Living With Sin
by Temptress-Kitten17
Summary: Elena knew when she moved in with Stefan that it wouldn't be long until their engagement; she just hadn't counted on his devastatingly handsome older brother becoming her roommate. He tries to seduce her every chance he gets. How will she ever resist him?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, however consider this story mine. Any dialogues not canon from the show as well as any descriptive sentences are the end result of over twenty years of writing. I have poured my heart and soul into every beautiful paragraph, every perfect sentence, every hot and/or romantic scene, and every funny one-liner. To copy this work or any other and claim as one's own, in whole or in part is a criminal offence punishable by ostracism, harassment by my loyal readers, and possibly even dismissal by the MODs. It's not worth it; don't be a thief :)

Prologue

_Dear Diary,_

_ I still can't believe it's been six months since Stefan and I moved in together! We've pretty much had this gorgeous colonial boarding house all to ourselves and it's been amazing. Well, I will admit that I do get a little bit lonely sometimes in this big house; Stefan's been working most nights at the hospital while taking classes during the day. He's so determined to be a doctor and follow in the footsteps of his father, who passed away when he was seventeen. Because it was his dying wish, I don't really have the heart to tell my boyfriend that his career choice isn't exactly the best option for him; Stefan is sort of squeamish around blood, you see. Still, he's working so hard to get over his phobia, and as his long-term girlfriend I guess I have to support him in this. Still, I feel like I'm spending more time alone with my thoughts lately and less time with him, and to be honest I'm going a little stir crazy. I'm almost tempted to leap off this straight and narrow path I've been treading the past few years, (ever since my senior year of high school, actually). But the problem is that I'm a little scared to let loose, because that sort of behavior has gotten me into trouble in the past. Fortunately, Stefan has no idea, and I'd prefer to keep it that way; he doesn't _need_ to know that his perfectly angelic girlfriend used to be a wild child. Honestly, he'd probably freak out on me if he knew the sorts of things I used to do for fun, which is one of the reasons he's so _good_ for me. I'm far less likely to resort back to my self-destructive patterns as long as I have him in my life; he'll be the perfect husband for me, I just know it…_

Elena Gilbert was curled up in the corner of the plush leather sofa, enjoying the cozy warmth of the fireplace and taking full advantage of her time alone. As usual on a Friday afternoon, Stefan was in class and would be for several hours; at which point he would then come home for about an hour to shower and dress for his shift at the hospital. Elena was also a student at the university, but she was majoring in Professional Writing; it wasn't as glamorous or exciting as it seemed. When her mother Isobel had first pushed her into it, she'd insisted Elena would find it far more lucrative than her aspirations to become a first-rate novelist.

"You're not going to be able to support yourself by selling a bunch of fictional stories," she'd pointed out after Elena had expressed her desire to study creative writing her first year of college. So while she was severely disappointed, she'd agreed to take the classes her mother had suggested and save the creative expression for her diary. That had been two years ago, and while her grades were decent enough that she could scrape by each semester without landing on academic probation, she might as well be failing. Today she had simply decided to take the afternoon off; she had to write yet another boring document for her Business Writing class and it was due first thing Monday morning. She had barely started on it and couldn't seem to find any motivation to work on any of her other assignments either; more than likely she would be scrambling at the eleventh hour (again) to complete everything and scrape by with another C.

She sighed to herself and started scribbling again, lost in another train of thought.

_I'm pretty sure Isobel would flip out on me if she knew this, but sometimes I almost wish Stefan and I were already married and that he was a successful doctor. I know, it's not exactly feminist of me to think, but the truth is I often wonder if it would be so wrong to just let him earn the income so I can quit school. Obviously I'm not going to do that; My birth parents and Aunt Jenna would _kill_ me, and I'm pretty sure my Aunt Miranda and Uncle Grayson (god, it's so weird not calling them Mom and Dad anymore) would turn over in their graves if they knew. I wish they were still alive; maybe they could have paid for my tuition instead, and then Isobel would have just had to deal with it when I chose to study Creative Writing. Maybe if they had been, then I wouldn't be practically failing every single course right now; maybe I might even be on the honor roll and get some sort of Best Author award or something. Well, it's not like I can change what happened that night, no matter how badly I wish I could take it back. The reality is, I can't afford school on my own, so John and Isobel are pretty much the ones who get to decide what classes I get to take since they're the ones paying my tuition. And I know it's awful, but sometimes I wish they'd never told me the truth; that I was adopted by Grayson and Miranda Gilbert, John's older brother and sister-in-law. I didn't find out until I was almost eighteen, and by that time the accident had already happened. It didn't help that the man I had been led to believe was my uncle happened to be a complete jerk all my life, and I'd never really liked him. And as for Isobel, well she just sort of showed up one day and decided she'd try to give this whole "mother" thing another shot; must have been so much easier for her now that she didn't have to actually raise me herself. Anyway, to say I'm not close to my birth parents would be a huge understatement. In truth, the only family I actually _am_ close to are Miranda's younger sister, Aunt Jenna, and my cousin Jeremy, who I'd grown up thinking was my younger brother. Yeah, my life is definitely complicated._

_Anyway, back to Stefan…I can't really explain how I know this, but I just have this feeling he's going to ask me to marry him. I mean, why wouldn't he? We've been dating for just over a year, and obviously we're compatible b/c we're doing really well with the whole "living together" aspect of things. So you know, it wouldn't really be such a big deal if we just made it official, since there's really not much of a difference. Besides, "Mrs. Salvatore" has a really nice ring to it, pun not intended. I wonder if he'll buy me a ring, or if I'll get a family ring instead. Apparently Stefan's family line goes way back to the founders of Mystic Falls, just like mine, so I might just get a priceless family heirloom like my mom got from my dad. Of course they had to re-set the stones, but still, it would be nice to have a piece of history. I never got Mom's ring, since she wanted Jeremy to give it to his future wife someday; makes sense, I guess. I wouldn't really be able to wear it, after all, since it _is_ a wedding ring…oh, that sounds like Stefan's at the door. We'll talk later!_

Elena turned her head at the sound of the key sliding into the lock. She really hadn't expected Stefan to be home yet; it wasn't even two o'clock. Still, if he was going to be home for a few hours before his shift, she would definitely take advantage of the opportunity. She immediately closed her diary and set it aside before pulling off her shirt to reveal her lacy blue bra and fluffing up her hair for good measure. She raced to greet him at the door; she couldn't wait to surprise him since he likely wouldn't be expecting to have an afternoon quickie in the living room. To say she was shocked when a stranger stepped through the doors instead would be an understatement.

The first thing she noticed was that he was ridiculously hot, with dark hair that fell slightly into his eyes, and rippling muscles beneath a tight black tee shirt and dark jeans; her "aunt" Jenna would have been all over him if she were here. For a moment, Elena even forgot that she was standing in just her bra and a pair of yoga pants in front of a complete stranger, and she wasn't even aware that she was blatantly checking him out; it took the saucy smirk on his face and the sudden movement of his piercing blue eyes as they settled on her breasts for her to snap out of it and remember her modesty _and _the fact that he had just walked into the house uninvited.

"Who are you and what do you think you're doing here?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and trying to look intimidating.

The intruder smirked, as if she amused him. "Technically, I should be asking what _you're_ doing here, though I can't say I mind so much considering how you've chosen to greet me."

She glared at him; she really didn't like his attitude, and she had half a mind to slap that infuriating smirk off his face.

"I wasn't expecting _you_ to walk through the door," she said indignantly. "I thought I was greeting my boyfriend!"

"Oh, you must be Elena," he said knowingly. He seemed to be even more amused by the situation now; she was beginning to get annoyed, since he'd still not explained what the hell he was doing in her house.

"I'm Damon, Stefan's brother," he explained. Upon seeing her quizzical expression he frowned slightly. "He didn't mention I would be coming here." She could tell it was a statement, not a question. Clearly, Damon had an overinflated sense of self-importance.

"Maybe you should have…oh I don't know…_called ahead_ before you decided to break into your brother's home?" she said, her smile was sarcastically sweet.

"I didn't break in, Elena, I have a key," he dangled them in front of her, rolling his eyes as if she'd said something incredibly stupid.

"All the same, why would you just show up uninvited?" she demanded.

Damon sighed in exasperation. "I don't _need_ an invitation," he was talking to her in a tone that made it seem like he was explaining something to a small child. "I live here."

"Since when?" she arched her brow suspiciously. Stefan had never mentioned his older brother when he'd asked her to move in with him; she'd assumed he was the only one still living at the Salvatore boarding house. Obviously, her boyfriend had left out a few important details concerning the living arrangement.

"Since always," he quipped in a smart-ass tone. "Or did my baby brother forget to mention that part of the rental agreement?"

"Must have slipped his mind," Elena snapped. "It would seem it's genetic, considering I've been here pretty much every day for the past six months and have never seen you once in all that time!"

He shrugged. "I've been travelling," he explained. "But I got bored, so I decided I'd come home for a while; see what the ladies of Mystic Falls have been up to."

"I doubt they missed your absence," she said, rolling her eyes at his arrogance.

"Actually, _Elena, _I happen to have quite a string of admirers; you might even know a few of them." He smirked again, laughing at his private little joke; his eyes lit up with sardonic amusement. "So you _might _want to be a little nicer to me, considering you're a _guest_ in _my_ house."

She tilted her head up, staring into his eyes defiantly. "I'm not a guest," she informed him. "I live here."

"I know," he said, shrugging his shoulders as if it didn't make a difference to him. "But considering that it's _my_ house, _and_ I wasn't consulted when my baby brother decided to have you shack up with him, technically I'm the one who ultimately gets to decide who lives here."

"You can't just throw me out," she said, eyes burning into his in challenge. "Stefan wouldn't stand for it."

"Stefan isn't the one who pays the bills around here," Damon said, his expression suddenly serious, if not a little dangerous. "So you might want to re-think your whole plan to have my saintly brother come to your aid, because I have no trouble tossing his free-loading ass out the door."

Elena fought back the choice words she wanted to call him; something in his tone told her he meant every word of what he said. The last thing she wanted was to get Stefan kicked out of his home, and she wasn't exactly thrilled about the very real possibility of having to move back into the dorm, or worse yet, live with Isobel. It was bad enough that she was forced to spend time with her birth mother once a week for the sake of her helping with school and living expenses. Otherwise Elena would _really_ be failing, as a job would severely cut into the time she needed to work on her assignments.

Damon took her silence as a sign that she was finally going to comply with his demands and smirked in triumph. "I thought so," he said simply. "Well, now that we've gotten _that_ whole issue out of the way, we should start over. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother." he smiled, holding out his hand.

"Elena," she sighed, holding out her hand and trying to be as civil as was humanly possible. Seriously, did he _ever_ stop smirking?

Instead of shaking her hand as she'd expected, however, he took it gently in his and raised it up to his lips in an old-world gesture that made her legs turn to jelly. "A pleasure to meet you, Elena," he purred seductively. "I can see why my brother is so smitten."

She was a little unnerved by the jolt she felt at the soft brush of his lips against her skin and the way his eyes seemed to pierce her soul. She found herself smiling and blushing slightly, in spite of her better judgment; she had to admit, he _was_ quite charming when he wasn't being an ass.

Damon obviously knew he had such an effect on her, because he was smirking again as he released her hand. "Well, I should probably go get my stuff from the car and let you get back to what you were doing," he said, breaking whatever spell he'd somehow cast over her the second he'd taken her hand in his. She licked her lips nervously, still feeling a little dazed.

"Oh, right," she said, her words sounding a little more breathy than she would have liked. "I guess you want to get settled in, and you'll probably want to shower too. You can use my…I mean, Stefan's bathroom if you like. I can show you where it is."

Damon couldn't help but laugh softly in amusement; he hadn't realized she'd be so easy to fluster. It was cute. "I have my own private suite," he said, reminding her once again that he lived there. "Unless that was an invitation…" he winked.

She flushed to the roots of her hair and shook her head. "No!" she said, scandalized that he would have the audacity to suggest such a thing.

Damon smirked again; he had a feeling this little arrangement could be fun for him. "I was teasing," he assured her. "You're going to have to learn to lighten up, especially if we're going to be roomies."

"I'll work on that," she said, willing her heart to stop pounding so hard in her chest. His playful smile and expressive eyes were disarming; she would definitely have to keep her guard up around him. She watched as he moved back to the door; she couldn't help admiring the sculpted backside, thinking that his fitted black jeans should be illegal. It really didn't seem fair to her that Stefan's older brother happened to be so incredibly good-looking, and it was so obvious that he was the total embodiment of the Bad Boy; a woman's greatest weakness. She knew she would have to be extremely careful not to give in to the temptation to sample such a forbidden fruit, no matter how enticing; she was dating his brother, after all. No good could possibly come from developing a crush on Damon Salvatore, she told herself.

"Oh, and Elena?" he said, snapping her out of her thoughts before they went down a very dangerous path. He cocked his head to one side, winking over his shoulder at her. "Don't feel like you have to stop lounging around in your underwear on my account; I know I won't."

Another jolt went through her at his suggestive comment and a dull ache started up between her thighs. She stared after his retreating form in stunned shock; oh yeah, she was _definitely_ in trouble.

**Author's Note:** First of all, I wanted to thank everyone who left so many awesome reviews for all my stories, but especially my "Restless Nights" series, and "All I Need". Seriously, you guys make the hours I spend writing (and re-writing) worth it; I really wouldn't be here without your continued support!

Now, down to business! I sort of came up with this story after writing the final chapter of "Restless Nights" during the scene where Elena wonders if Damon was a stripper. It sort of got me thinking, and a certain image popped into my head. I won't give away the ending, since I haven't even gotten around to writing that part yet (just the outline), but basically the premise is that Damon has a little side business entertaining the ladies of Mystic Falls at private parties. And well, let's just say one of Elena's close friends decides to hire him for a bachelorette party and…I'm sure you have an idea of where I'm going with this ;)

Anyway, once I got that scene in my head, I started filling in the back story and realized I had come up with a story that just _had_ to be written, despite the fact that I'm still working on "All I Need", which isn't even halfway finished yet. But you know how it is; when the muse wants something, it's impossible to focus on anything else.

Back to this story, there are a few things I want to clarify regarding plot:

**I've aged the characters a bit.** Elena, Stefan, and pretty much all her friends are 22. Damon is 25.

**This is (obviously) a Delena story,** so there's going to be a bit of Stefan bashing by certain characters (mainly Damon and Isobel). Also, Delena-shippers can release that breath they've been holding because I have no intentions of actually subjecting anyone to a Stelena love-fest. I can't handle watchingthem making out onscreen, so it's safe to say I wouldn't be able to stomach actually writing a love scene…*chokes on bile at the mere thought of doing so*

**John and Isobel are Elena's birth parents, but did not raise her.** John allowed her to spend her senior year living with Jenna, but only because his business dealings made it nearly impossible for him to actually have time to raise her and his nephew Jeremy after his brother and sister-in-law died in the car crash. In this version, however, it was a car accident involving a drunk driver, and they didn't go off the bridge; it was the impact that killed them. Elena was in the back seat, so she was pretty banged up and knocked unconscious, but she survived.

**Elena does have a trust fund, but cannot access it until she's 25.** In the meantime, John has control of it and basically this means she is at the mercy of both him and Isobel, who still has influence over his decisions regarding their biological daughter. She moved in with Stefan, against Isobel's wishes, in order to regain some sense of control over her own life.

If you have any questions regarding something in this story, just let me know and I'll answer them in the next chapter! Can't wait to hear what you all think!

~Carly


	2. Chapter 1: Womanizer

Chapter 1: Womanizer

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, however consider this story mine. Any dialogues not canon from the show as well as any descriptive sentences are the end result of over twenty years of writing. I have poured my heart and soul into every beautiful paragraph, every perfect sentence, every hot and/or romantic scene, and every funny one-liner. To copy this work or any other and claim as one's own, in whole or in part is a criminal offence punishable by ostracism, harassment by my loyal readers, and possibly even dismissal by the MODs. It's not worth it; don't be a thief :)

_Dear Diary,_

_It's been two days since Damon's arrival and let me tell you, it's been two days too many! I swear he's made it his mission in life to drive me crazy or something, because everywhere I turn, he's there. Ugh! It didn't help that Stefan decided to take on some extra shifts this weekend in the hopes that he'll be better prepared for his midterm next week. It's just been me and Damon…well, unless you count the women from the bar. Seriously, the man is the biggest womanizer I've ever met! Friday night he brought home a bunch of sorority girls and they had a little party in the living room! He has absolutely no shame at all, and it's just so incredibly annoying. I pretty much hid in Stefan's room all night, but I could _still_ hear them down there; let me tell you, they were at it all night. How is that even humanly possible? And then the next morning, he refused to put on clothes, preferring to walk around in his boxers. And okay, so maybe that's not such a horrible thing from an aesthetic point of view, but that's just the point! He's way too hot for his own good, and he knows it. He caught me staring a few times and offered to snap a picture for me so I'd have something to comfort me while Stefan was working the night shifts. I really could have slapped him for that comment; he's such a cocky, arrogant ass! Thank god he's out tonight so I can finally have some peace around here. And tomorrow's Monday, so I get a total of eight hours to myself; albeit stuck on campus, but it's better than being at home with Damon tormenting me every waking minute. Stefan also has the night off, so I'm thinking I might like to have the girls over for dinner. I'll admit I've sort of neglected them since I moved in with Stefan, so it might be a good idea to get everyone together so that they can get to know him better. I'm sure once we all hang out as a group, they'll warm up to each other a bit more, and then it won't be so awkward between the four of us anymore…god, I hope Damon plans to be out barhopping tomorrow until after everyone goes home; the last thing I want is to subject my friends to his company. Well, tomorrow's almost here so I should get to sleep. I've got an early class (ugh. Business Writing, then Communications), and then I'm going to try to meet up with Bonnie and Caroline in our usual spot since it's supposed to be nice out, and I haven't really hung out with them in a while. Here's hoping they forgive me for being MIA lately…_

Elena made her way down the steps and headed for her usual meeting place, balancing the tray of drinks precariously and calling out a greeting to her friend Bonnie as soon as she spotted her on the grass near the parking lot.

"Well look who it is!" Bonnie Bennet said in mock surprise. "And to think I was about to send out a search party for you."

"Ha ha," Elena laughed dryly. "You act like I disappeared off the face of the earth or something."

"Considering how often you've bailed on our girl's nights, you might as well have!" Bonnie crossed her arms in front of her, staring at Elena as if she'd committed some horrible crime and it was _her_ job to condemn her for it. In a way, she had; she'd pretty much committed the cardinal sin by ignoring her girlfriends since she'd gotten serious with Stefan. They weren't likely to forgive her without some sort of peace offering; which was why she'd made sure to pick up a mocha latte for each of them.

"I know," Elena replied, hanging her head in shame. "I've been a terrible friend lately, but I come bearing gifts. Consider it my way of saying I'm sorry." She held out the tray in offering; Bonnie immediately took her latte and started sipping it. After a minute, she rolled her eyes and motioned with her hand for Elena to join her on the grass. It was an unusually warm day for late September so they'd agreed to study outside before their respective classes, which didn't start for another two hours.

"So, have you heard from Caroline?" Elena asked after a few more minutes of uncomfortable silence.

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, I saw her last night during Girl's Night" she said, making sure to give Elena another pointed look.

"Okay, I get it," Elena sighed. "Will you stop making me feel guilty already?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I'll think about it," she said noncommittally. "Anyway, you're not the only one who ended up ditching me. Caroline met a guy last night while we were tossing back shots at the Mystic Grill; guess she's done crying over Matt."

Elena raised an eyebrow in shock. "Hold on, Caroline hooked up with a guy last night?" she asked incredulously. Her best friend had been devastated after her latest break up with Matt Donovan three months ago. Word had it that Bonnie had practically had to drag her out of their shared apartment just so she could attend her classes; nobody was sure if Caroline would _ever_ get over it.

Bonnie nodded, not looking too thrilled about the situation; obviously he'd gone back to the apartment with them, meaning Bonnie had wound up crashing on her friend Luca's sofa again in order to avoid hearing things she didn't want to hear all night. Elena gave her a sympathetic smile and decided to change the subject.

"So anyway, I was thinking about having you and Caroline over for dinner tonight!" she said.

Bonnie's eyes lit up in excitement. "Really?" she asked, "Just us girls?"

Elena bit her lip nervously, causing Bonnie to narrow her eyes suspiciously. "Oh," she said. "Stefan's going to be there too, isn't he?"

"It's _his_ house, so yeah, he'll be joining us too." Elena said, feeling a little bit annoyed by Bonnie's attitude. Did she really expect her to just kick Stefan out on his night off from the hospital?

Bonnie tried to fake a look of disappointment. "Oh, sorry I forgot; I can't tonight. Tons of homework, sorry!"

Elena wasn't fooled. "You _have_ to give him a chance!" she said sternly.

"Tonight's no good," Bonnie insisted. Elena simply stared at her, not believing her excuse for a second. "I should probably text Caroline and find out where she is," Bonnie said, pulling out her phone. Elena snatched it away from her.

"Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennet!" she said. "You're _going _to be there."

Bonnie sighed in resignation. "Fine," she pouted. "I'll go. But if I have to watch you and Stefan make revolting kissy faces at each other all night, I'll hurl."

"I'll keep that in mind," Elena deadpanned. "Anyway, you can always hang out with Damon if the sight of me with Stefan becomes too much for you to handle!"

Bonnie chose to ignore the sarcastic comment. "How's that going, anyway? Him living there with you guys?" she asked.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Great," she sighed in exasperation. "When he's not making sexually suggestive comments and walking around the house in his boxers, he's bringing some random woman home from the bar. And he thinks nothing of having a party with her while I'm still in the house! Saturday night I accidentally walked in on him in the hallway with Matt's mom!"

Bonnie made a face at that. "Eww! I feel sick just thinking about it," she said.

Elena nodded in agreement. "Yeah, well it's even more disgusting to actually catch them in the act. And she was wearing this really skanky cocktail dress, and he had her up against the wall, and…"

Bonnie held up her hands, signaling her to stop. "Okay, I get the picture already; geez, you've made me lose my appetite! New topic, please?" she asked, trying to shake the horrifying images from her mind.

"Definitely," Elena agreed. "So tell me about last night. Who's this guy Caroline hooked up with? Anyone we might know?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I'm not sure," she said. "He seemed a little older, but maybe only by a few years. The bartender seemed to know him, though I'm not sure that's necessarily a good thing. Can't say I really blame Caroline for picking him up though," she blushed slightly and Elena smirked knowingly.

"That hot, huh?" she guessed.

Bonnie nodded. "Oh yeah," she confirmed. "And he definitely knew it too, because he had women falling all over him all night. I was a little surprised he went for Caroline."

"Bonnie!" Elena scolded.

She shrugged. "Sorry, but even you have to admit Caroline comes off a little too neurotic sometimes. That tends to turn a lot of guys off."

"Well maybe he's not one of them!" Elena said confidently. "Maybe he'll even help her get over Matt."

"Maybe," Bonnie said, shrugging again before looking around in annoyance. "Seriously, _where is she_?" she asked.

Elena suddenly spotted a blue sport-convertible pulling up into the parking lot and felt all hope for her friend disappear; she was leaning over in the passenger seat and kissing a dark haired man before pulling back. He was wearing dark sunglasses so she couldn't really see much of his face; but that smirk was all too familiar.

"Well, there she is; and she's with her mystery guy from last night," Bonnie commented, though it didn't really need to be said.

"That's no mystery guy," Elena told her, frowning. "That's Damon Salvatore."

Bonnie's eyes widened in shock at her words. "_That's_ Damon?" she gasped, "As in, Stefan's brother? The obnoxious but sinfully sexy guy you're living with? _That_ Damon?"

"The one and only!" Elena shot back, her good mood suddenly having been shot to hell. He must have caught a bit of their conversation because he took his glasses off and looked directly at her; she could tell he found the situation amusing. She glared at him, hating how damn _smug_ he looked. She would have to inform him later that she didn't appreciate him adding her friends to his list of one-night stands.

Caroline skipped over to them, obviously having had quite the eventful night. "Sorry I'm late, girls, I was…uh…busy."

"I can see that," Elena said, still glaring at Damon even as he pulled out of the parking lot and drove away. She couldn't quite explain it, but the sight of him with Caroline had unnerved her; she supposed maybe she was just feeling protective, after all, it wasn't like she was jealous or anything, right?

**Author's Note:** Wow, I can't get over how many responses I've already received for this story! Thank you so much for that :) Anyway, I couldn't resist getting straight to work on the next chapter, and while it's short, it was sort of necessary since I'm building up to something here. I think you've probably guessed by now where I'm heading with the next chapter, especially if you're like me and have memorized pretty much every awesome Delena moment on the show.

Keep those reviews coming, and maybe I'll work on another chapter tonight ;)


	3. Chapter 2: Jealous

Chapter 2: Jealous

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, however consider this story mine. Any dialogues not canon from the show as well as any descriptive sentences are the end result of over twenty years of writing. I have poured my heart and soul into every beautiful paragraph, every perfect sentence, every hot and/or romantic scene, and every funny one-liner. To copy this work or any other and claim as one's own, in whole or in part is a criminal offence punishable by ostracism, harassment by my loyal readers, and possibly even dismissal by the MODs. It's not worth it; don't be a thief :)

Elena was fumbling to get her keys into the door; the weight from the bags of groceries making it a little difficult for her to guide the key to the lock. She cursed out loud when they slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground. She kneeled down on the front step, searching for the telltale glint of metal, reflecting the porch lights. She was squinting in the semi darkness, finally spotting them lying just off to the side. As she was shifting the bags so she could pick them up, the door suddenly swung open and she was so startled that she jumped back. The action caused her to land on her butt with her legs splayed in front of her, the contents in the grocery bags starting to spill out. Fortunately, the glass jar of marinara sauce was cushioned by the loaf of French garlic bread and the pasta, so it hadn't broken; thank god, because she didn't want to have to make another trip to the store to replace it.

As she looked up from the ground, the first thing she noticed was a pair of muscular jean-clad legs; _dark_ jeans, to be exact. She tried not to stare, she really did, but it was impossible not to notice the slight bulge between his legs, and how _much_ of it there was; even more than Stefan. Oh dear god, was she actually comparing their size right now? And why wasn't she looking away?

"See something you like?" he chuckled, obviously aware of just where she was staring.

She tore her eyes away from him, pretending to focus on the interesting contents of her grocery bags.

"I uh…" she coughed, clearing her throat and ridding her voice of its huskiness. The last thing she wanted was for him to know just how much he affected her. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, still avoiding his gaze.

He laughed again, shaking his head; she was a horrible liar, which made it all the more amusing for him. Before she could protest, he was down on the ground with her; he helped her gather up the spilled groceries and slipping them back into the cloth bags.

"Thanks," she said, amazed that he wasn't teasing her right now.

He smiled, slipping the bags over his arms and standing up. "No problem," he said, holding out his hand for her; she took it, allowing him to pull her up to her feet.

"So what are we having tonight?" he asked conversationally as they made their way into the kitchen. He set the bags on the island counter top and began pulling out the contents.

"_We_ are not having anything," she informed him. "Stefan and I are having a dinner party tonight, but you're not on the guest list, sorry."

He frowned, almost pouting at her words. "What am I supposed to do while you're entertaining your guests in my house?" he asked pointedly.

Elena shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "Go out bar hopping again, I guess? Honestly, I don't really care; just as long as you're not _here_ when my friends arrive."

"But…I bought dessert," he said sulkily.

Elena's eyes narrowed suspiciously at his comment. "What do you mean you bought dessert? How would you even know to…" she trailed off, seeing the wicked grin on his face. The bastard already knew about the dinner, and she had a feeling she knew _exactly _who had told him.

"Caroline," she muttered under her breath; she was going to have to have a word with her later about simply inviting people to events without her invitation specifically saying "plus one".

Damon smirked at her; she could tell he was gloating right now. "Your cute little friend called me up right after you and the other one headed off to class; seems she's taken quite a liking to me already, and she wanted to know if I was going to be here tonight."

"I'm warning you, Damon," she growled threateningly. "Stay away from her, and that goes for the rest of my friends and family too!"

"Why?" he asked, still smirking. "Are you jealous?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I just don't like the idea of you adding them to your list of one-night stands!"

"So if I sleep with her again she'll be fair game then?" he asked cheekily. "After all, technically she'd be a two-night stand, and that list is _much_ smaller."

"Ugh!" she growled, resisting the urge to hurl the jar of marinara sauce at his head. "You're just so…argh!"

"Very eloquent," he teased her. "Couldn't have said it any better myself."

"Just stay away from Caroline!" she snapped, giving him one last warning look.

"But she's and I were having so much _fun_," he whined. "And revenge sex is just the perfect way to get back at that guy Max, or Mark, or whatever his name is."

"Matt," she corrected automatically.

Damon nodded. "Right, _Matt_, that's who I meant."

"I won't let you keep seeing her," Elena said firmly.

"See, that's not really your call to make," he said. "The fact of the matter is, Caroline likes me, and whether or not you approve, I'm going to keep seeing her."

"She's not a toy, Damon. You can't just keep playing with her until you get bored and then toss her away!"

Damon shrugged. "Why not?" he asked like it wasn't a big deal. "She's only using me to make her ex jealous; it's not like there are any _feelings_ involved. It's just sex, Elena." He grinned lewdly and added, "Really hot sex. I had no idea Barbie was so kinky." He pretended to look down at his watch, even though there was a clock right on the damn stove that read 4:30. "That reminds me," he said, backing up and heading toward the hallway. "I better get ready; I've got a date!" He was deliberately taunting her now.

Elena let out a frustrated growl, reaching into the bowl of fruit on the counter and hurling an orange at his head. He caught it easily. "Thanks for the snack," he said, holding up the orange in his left hand. "See you at dinner!" He was still smirking at her as he backed out of the kitchen.

About an hour later, Elena was preparing dinner and anxiously checking the time on the stove. Stefan would be home in about thirty minutes, as would the rest of her dinner guests. Thankfully, Damon had stayed out of the kitchen so she'd had plenty of time to prepare the chicken and place it in the oven. Unfortunately, the peace didn't last long.

"You know, the whole point of having everyone over for a home-cooked meal is to _actually _serve a _home-cooked_ meal," Damon teased, sauntering into the kitchen. Elena ignored him, continuing to scrape the store-bought marinara sauce out of the jar and into the small sauce pan on the gas stove.

"I'm cooking," she said defensively. "It's not like I just bought a whole bunch of stuff from a restaurant and stuck it on fancy plates or anything."

Damon made a face, eyeing the contents in the pan with distaste. "Might as well be," he muttered as he watched her stir the sauce. "Come on, you didn't even put any spices in it," he whined.

Elena rolled her eyes. "I got the good stuff," she snapped in irritation. "There are plenty of spices already _in_ it."

"Not enough," Damon said seriously. "Trust me; it's going to be _really_ bland if you don't add anything to it."

"Then don't eat it," she sighed in exasperation. Under her breath she mumbled, "It's not like you were invited anyway." She turned back to the sauce on the stove, stirring lazily, when all of a sudden she felt the heat of his body and the brush of his arm as he reached in front of her. She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden contact and accidentally backed up into his hard chest.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Her voice once again sounded a little too breathy and she cursed him for having such an effect on her.

She couldn't see him, but she had a feeling he was smirking at her again.

"What does it look like? I'm fixing the sauce. No way am I going to allow you to serve it like _that_; not when my Italian pride is at stake," he said cheekily, reaching for one of the many little bottles of spices on the shelf just above the stove.

He picked one up labeled "Rosemary" and sprinkled the contents into his palm. Elena tried very hard to control her breathing; she was very much aware that his arms were practically encircling her. The kitchen was unbearably hot, but she doubted it was just the stove that was getting to her. She watched as he set the bottle back on the shelf, fighting to keep upright as his actions caused a certain part of him to brush against the side of her hip. Elena closed her eyes, willing the alarming sensations it provoked in her to go away.

"You know, Stefan never complained about my sauce all the times I've made it for him," Elena pointed out, trying to regain some of her composure and righteous indignation; anything to get her heart to stop pounding.

"Stefan would eat a _squirrel_ if he was hungry enough," Damon said, his words dripping with sarcasm. "I, on the other hand, happen to have a much more sophisticated palate. Now watch carefully; you might actually learn something."

With his opposite hand he began to crush the dried up leaves and sprinkled it over the sauce in a clockwise motion before dusting the rest off his hands. His arms were pressing on both sides and he was leaning in slightly so that her upper back was touching his chest. She could feel his breath on her neck and an involuntary shiver went through her. He grabbed a few more bottles off the shelf, sprinkling the contents in the same way he had the rosemary before taking her hand in his. She jumped at the intimate touch as his thumb brushed over her palm and she turned her head to the side to look at him; he was smirking again and Elena came to the sudden realization that he was deliberately trying to fluster her, and damn him, it was working.

Without a word he took the spoon that was still in her clenched fist and moved to one side, stirring the contents before bringing the utensil up to her lips. She opened her mouth, allowing him to feed her, and closed her eyes at the taste; she hated to admit it, but he had been right. She couldn't remember ever having tasted something so delicious; not even in the few Italian restaurants she'd been to over the years. She'd honestly never pictured him as the type of man who knew how to cook; she couldn't help but wonder if he had any other hidden talents.

"_Now_ tell me _your_ sauce wasn't bland," he said, smirking arrogantly.

Elena sighed, knowing she'd lost this round with him. "Okay, I'll admit it; you definitely know what you're doing," she said.

"I'm the best," he replied cockily. "Any woman who's had the pleasure of my company will tell you that I'm _extremely _talented."

"I didn't think any of them spent enough time with you to sample your cooking; let alone sit down for an actual meal," she quipped back.

Her front was pressed against the stove countertop again as he moved behind her, breathing close her ear and sending another shiver up the back of her neck. "I wasn't talking about my cooking," he purred. She gasped, turning her head to give him a reproachful look; he _really_ needed to stop doing that. He had a smug expression on his face as he backed away from her, moving to the counter to chop some garlic cloves for her.

"I don't need any help," Elena said, wanting him to just leave her alone.

"Of course you do," Damon said, glancing up at her through his thick eyelashes, the smirk still on his face. "You just don't wanna admit it because I make you nervous," he said knowingly.

"You don't…" she tried to protest. She was tearing up the lettuce for the salad when she suddenly felt him behind her again; she jumped, almost toppling the bowl over and spilling everything onto the floor.

"Sure, whatever you say Jumpy," he teased, backing up again.

She spun around to face him, about to give him a piece of her mind when she heard the sound of the door slamming shut and breathed out a sigh of relief; Stefan was finally home.

"Elena?" he called out.

Before she could answer, Damon shouted "We're in here!" and quickly darted back over to the other side of the kitchen to chop some tomatoes for the salad. He gave her a conspiratory wink, which unnerved her; it wasn't like anything happened between them just now.

Stefan came into the kitchen, smiling the second he saw Elena.

"You're home early," she said as he moved in for their usual quick peck on the cheek. She caught Damon staring at them, and gave Stefan a fiery kiss on the lips instead. His eyes were closed, but hers were slightly open so she could focus on Damon and enjoy the stunned look on his face. After a few minutes she pulled away.

Stefan had a dazed and curious expression on his face. "What was that for?" he asked, surprised at the intensity of the kiss.

Elena smiled sweetly, her arms still draping over his shoulders as her hands played with the collar of his white shirt. "I just felt like kissing you," she said. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Damon walking out of the kitchen and smiled in triumph; looks like _he_ was the jealous one.

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed all that sexual tension in the kitchen; that does seem to be _their_ place, doesn't it? Perhaps I should revisit that room in future chapters ;) We'll just have to see, won't we? I'm absolutely thrilled that so many people have already reviewed and added me to alerts and favorites lists; especially since I only posted this story yesterday! Seriously, keep 'em coming, because the more I get, the more excited I am to write. Now, I want to apologize about that kiss; it was necessary for the plot, since Elena is going to be resisting for a while (or, she's trying to). Also, that disgusting display of affection at the car in "Bad Moon Rising" was totally just another way to annoy Damon, and so I decided to use it here as a way of showing that even when she's around Stefan, it's _all_ about Damon. I tried to make the kiss sound hot, without actually going into any detail; that was a challenge in itself, let me tell you. Normally I just don't write kiss scenes for couples that don't appeal to me, since I have a very vivid imagination (as I'm sure you've all figured out by now). I'm gonna go watch some old Delena clips now to wash the bad Stefan-taste out of my mouth.

Now to answer some questions:

**Why is Elena with Stefan if she's obviously not passionately in love with him?**

Elena only _thinks_ she's in love with Stefan, but it's her head that's making all the decisions, not her heart. He represents everything she thinks she wants out of life and is the "safe" choice, but her relationship with Stefan is more about dependency and security than actual love. This has already been hinted at in her diary entry back in the prologue, and will become even more evident as the story progresses.

**Will we get to read Damon's POV?**

There will be some chapters with Damon's POV, but not a lot since this is primarily Elena's story.

**Isn't it a little too soon for Elena to be jealous?**

Elena's not actually jealous in the sense that she hates seeing Damon with other women (yet). Mostly she's envious that both Caroline and Damon seem to do whatever they want and not care what anyone thinks of them. Obviously she _will _start getting jealous for more obvious reasons, but for now Damon is simply reminding her of that carefree life she used to have, and a part of her desperately wants to have that back. This story is mostly about her struggle with doing what she thinks she's supposed to do vs following her heart. Keep in mind that the life she has right now is the one she's been living for others. She let Isobel and John control what classes she's allowed to take, even though college should be a time to follow one's passion, and she basically dropped whatever social life she had with her friends when she met Stefan. This will also be addressed more as the story progresses.

**Is Elena going to cheat on Stefan with Damon?**

I'm not going to lie to you; there will be moments in the future where she comes _really_ close, but she won't actually go through with it. This story's all about the struggle and the sexual tension. If I take that away, I don't have a whole lot to work with other than some very hot smut; and while I enjoy writing a good smut fic, this one isn't really going to be about that. "All I Need" and "Restless Nights" are my glorified smut fics ;)

**So, we're not getting a lemon for a while? :(**

Oh there will be lemons thrown in...Think "Restless Nights" without the last two chapters, and a lot more sexual tension to work with ;)

Hope that cleared some things up for you!

_**Be Good and Review!**_


	4. Chapter 3: Tension

Chapter 3: Tension

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, however consider this story mine. Any dialogues not canon from the show as well as any descriptive sentences are the end result of over twenty years of writing. I have poured my heart and soul into every beautiful paragraph, every perfect sentence, every hot and/or romantic scene, and every funny one-liner. To copy this work or any other and claim as one's own, in whole or in part is a criminal offence punishable by ostracism, harassment by my loyal readers, and possibly even dismissal by the MODs. It's not worth it; don't be a thief :)

The tension in the dining room was so thick that Elena was almost suffocating from it; as soon as everyone sat down at the table the room had gone completely silent, almost deafening. She turned to Bonnie, who was sitting on the other side of Stefan and attempted to get a conversation going.

"So, Bonnie, why don't you tell us all about your family?" Elena suggested. She was referring to the recent discovery Bonnie had made; her ancestors had apparently been traced back to a group of suspected witches who had fled Salem to escape persecution. Of course there wasn't really a lot of truth to the rumor, other than the fact that her ancestors had been into the pagan rituals. Bonnie herself had also recently taken up Spirituality, having developed the interest even more so after she'd met her friend Luca; he was heavily into the New Age thing, and Elena suspected Bonnie had a bit of a crush on him. Unfortunately, he was completely oblivious.

"Um, divorced, no mom; live with my dad," Bonnie answered quickly. She looked away, disinterested, and began pushing her food around on her plate. The room was once again engulfed in uncomfortable silence and Elena sighed; this wasn't going at all the way she'd hoped.

"This is really good," Caroline said cheerfully, taking a bite of her Chicken Parmigiana and finally breaking the ice.

"Thanks," Elena said. "I'm glad you like it."

"You know, I helped her with the sauce," Damon said, turning to his date.

Caroline grinned, as if she couldn't believe her good fortune. "Oh my god, really?" she asked, surprised. "I didn't know you could cook!"

"Of course I can," Damon said, practically sticking out his chest with pride. "I'm Italian; it's in our blood, right Stefan?"

Stefan nodded his head, but looked a little embarrassed. Elena knew it was because he hadn't inherited that particular gene; or maybe he was just too worried about accidentally cutting himself with a knife. Since they'd begun dating, Elena had done the majority of the cooking; though it made sense considering Stefan was rarely home for dinner.

"You're Italian?" Caroline asked, sounding even more impressed.

Damon smirked, obviously finding her naivety amusing. "Yep!" he confirmed. "Damon _Salvatore_, as in "_Savior"_," he winked at her. Caroline blushed, giggling like a high school girl.

"So how did you two meet?" Stefan asked curiously.

Caroline blushed, giggling again. Elena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "We sort of bumped into each other at The Mystic Grill," she explained, grinning at Damon as if sharing a private joke.

"She means that literally," Damon added. "I was sitting at the bar and she had one shot too many and almost pushed me off the bar stool when she tripped over her own two feet."

Caroline smacked him playfully. "Hey, you're making me sound like a klutz," she whined. "Anyway, he's telling it wrong. I really didn't trip; I was just trying to find an excuse to talk to him…"

"…and bail on me on Girl's Night," Bonnie commented dryly.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Please, that was hardly a Girl's Night." She turned to stare accusingly at Elena. "It's really too bad you didn't want to come out. You could have kept Bonnie company and listen to her wallow in her own self-pity while I had some fun."

"I was _not_ wallowing," Bonnie said defensively, glaring across the table at Caroline.

She shrugged her shoulders. "_Pining_ then," she suggested. "I saw the way you kept looking over at Luca's table…"

"Oh, like _you're_ one to talk!" Bonnie growled.

"So why did you stay home on Girl's Night?" Damon asked Elena, quickly changing the subject. He was positive that one more word between Bonnie and Caroline would have resulted in a cat-fight; not that it wouldn't have been hot, but he really didn't feel like cleaning up the mess.

"Oh, she doesn't go out anymore," Caroline answered for her. "She's been going through a blah faze ever since her adoptive parents died, but she used to be _way_ more fun!" Bonnie looked about ready to slap her, and Elena just stared at her incredulously, as if she couldn't believe she'd just said that. "And I say that with complete sensitivity," Caroline mumbled quietly as an afterthought.

Elena took a long sip from her glass of white wine; she had a feeling this would be a long night.

She suddenly felt Damon's eyes on her, and was surprised at his expression; he seemed almost apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Elena," he said, sounding genuinely sympathetic. "I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die." She hadn't expected that, especially coming from him. She'd known a little bit about their parents, as Stefan had told her how his mother had gotten sick when he was a child and how his father had passed away after a heart attack when he was a teenager. But something about the way Damon was talking made it seem like there was more to the story. What hadn't Stefan told her?

"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon," Stefan said in a warning tone that Elena had never heard before; he was definitely trying to hide something.

"You know what, you're right, Stefan," Damon said apologetically. "I'm sorry, the _last_ thing I wanted to do is bring _her_ up." He winced, making a face that indicated the situation was incredibly awkward for the both of them. Elena took another sip of wine, not surprised when she realized she'd downed the entire contents of the glass.

Elena was still slightly buzzed from the wine as she started clearing the table and bringing everything into the kitchen. Bonnie and Caroline both had early classes tomorrow, so they left after dessert. Stefan got a call from the hospital asking if he wouldn't mind working a short four-hour shift since they were a bit under-staffed; as usual, he made a quick apology to her for cutting their night short and headed out immediately after dinner. That meant it was just her and Damon left to clean up; fortunately the three glasses of wine had put her in a much better mood.

"One more," he called to her, coming into the kitchen with another glass. He tried to hand it to her, but it slipped from her hands; he caught it reflexively, causing her to wonder if he'd been an athlete back in high school and giggled, trying to picture him in a letterman jacket. The image was hilarious, since she couldn't really see him in anything other than his leather jacket; he was too much of a bad boy to be so preppy, and she imagined he'd look about as out of place wearing it as John Travolta did in "Grease". She wondered if that made _her_ Olivia Newton John; only with much better hair.

"Nice save," she said, still laughing giddily from both her silly thoughts and the effects of the alcohol.

Damon grinned. "I like you," he said pointedly. "You know how to laugh." She couldn't help blushing at his compliment, and unconsciously she tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ears, still smiling at him. "And you make Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in a long time," he added. He moved around to the other side of the open dishwasher and she paused, holding a plate in her hand.

"Earlier tonight, you said you and Stefan both lost someone else besides your parents…who were you talking about?" she asked. She moved to place the plate down into the rack, but at the moment she lacked coordination; he took it from her gently, setting it down for her.

"Sorry about that," he apologized to her. "I really didn't mean to bring Katherine up; especially in front of company. It just sort of slipped out."

Elena furrowed her brow in confusion. "Katherine?" she repeated. This was the first she'd ever heard of her.

Damon stared at her incredulously. "Stefan's ex?" Damon said in a tone that made it seem like she should have already known this information.

At her blank stare he resisted the urge to roll his eyes; typical, Stefan hadn't told her. "You're telling me that you've been dating my brother a whole year and you haven't had the awkward ex conversation yet?"

She shrugged her shoulders and he sighed. "Well, I suppose it's going to come up now," he said. "Although, maybe he just didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end," he added pointedly.

"You say that as if every relationship is doomed to end," she said, frowning.

"I'm a fatalist," he replied simply. She handed him another plate, thinking it might be better if he placed the dishes in the racks for her since her coordination was still a little off.

"How did she die?" Elena asked, more than a little curious.

Damon frowned slightly, as if the memory caused him a lot of pain. "Fire," he replied. "Tragic fire."

"Recently?" Elena asked. The way he had said it, and the way Stefan had reacted earlier, it seemed like it hadn't happened that long ago.

"Seems like it was yesterday," Damon replied. He was smiling to hide his obvious discomfort, the same way she did when people asked her about her parents; clearly he was still in a lot of pain. She could relate.

"What was she like?" Elena asked softly, knowing that it would be better to focus on his happier memories of Katherine while she was satisfying her curiosity.

Damon smiled in remembrance. "She was beautiful," he told her. "A lot like you in that department. She was also very complicated, and selfish, and at times not very kind, but sexy and seductive." He was talking about her like she had been very important to him; almost as if he'd loved her too."

"So which one of you dated her first?" Elena asked pointedly, handing him another plate.

Damon smirked, taking it from her. "Nicely deduced," he said, impressed with how quickly she caught on. "Ask Stefan," he suggested bitterly, placing the last of the dishes in the rack and shutting the door. "I'm sure his answer differs from mine." He walked out of the kitchen without another word, and Elena watched him leave with a pang of regret for bringing up such a painful subject. Part of her really wanted to comfort him, as a friend; she had a feeling he didn't really have a whole lot of people he could really talk to. It seemed they had something in common after all.

It was well after midnight when Elena rose from her bed, finally resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to fall asleep on her own. She shivered slightly as her bare feet touched the wood floor on her way down to the kitchen. She was just about to put on a pot of hot chamomile tea to help her sleep when she felt a presence in the room with her. She turned around, jumping slightly in surprise to see Damon's dark silhouette in the darkness. He was leaning against the door frame, smirking slightly.

"Oh god, you startled me!" she gasped, placing a hand over her chest; her heart was racing.

"Cute PJs," he commented, glancing over her chosen attire of a camisole top and blue plaid shorts.

"What are you doing down here?" she asked, crossing her arms to cover herself. The cold air was starting to get to her, and she didn't want him to accidentally see anything that he shouldn't be seeing; he'd already caught _one_ glimpse of her, she wasn't about to give him a repeat performance.

Damon shrugged, making his way over to the refrigerator. "I was thinking of having a late-night snack," he informed her, opening the door and searching around for something. "Do we have any of that cheesecake left over from dessert earlier?"

Elena nodded, placing the kettle on the stove and turning on the element. "Check the bottom shelf, behind the leftover pasta," she said.

He grinned, pulling the cheesecake out of the fridge and setting it on the counter. "Care to join me?" he asked.

Elena shrugged. "Why not?" she replied, moving to sit at the counter; she noticed that Damon didn't grab any plates from the cupboard, only two forks.

"Might as well share," he explained at her questioning expression. "There's not really enough here to make it worth the extra dishes."

He sat beside her, angling his body so that they were almost facing each other over the open dessert container. Elena took a bite out of the strawberry cheesecake, moaning softly at how delicious it was. The cream cheese felt like it was melting on her tongue, and there was just enough swirl of strawberry to give it that added bit of flavor; truly it was one of the better recipes, especially for having been bought at the store.

"That looks really good," Damon said, barely above a whisper. "Can I have a taste?"

She blushed, realizing she'd been hogging their dessert, and pushed the container closer to his side, indicating he could help himself. As he moved to dip his fork into it for a bite, she accidentally brushed against his hand. She gasped at the sudden contact, pulling away quickly as if he'd burned her; a shock went through her and she was suddenly aware of their close proximity to each other.

He must have noticed too, because his eyes had suddenly turned a darker shade, and he was staring intensely at her lips. Her breathing had become shallow and she licked her lips nervously. Damon watched her intently, as if searching in her eyes for something, and then he brought the fork up to her lips. Just as she had done earlier with the sauce, she parted them, welcoming the sweet taste of cream cheese, strawberries, and just a hint of whipped cream. She let out another low moan of pleasure, and when her eyes fluttered open again Damon was still watching her. She didn't pull away when he leaned in slowly, and when their lips touched she melted against him, sliding her arms around his neck instinctively to pull him closer. Her head was spinning at the intensity she felt as he feasted on her lips like a man starved; she was just as ravenous, gripping his hair in her fist to hold him to her. She was dangerously close to falling off the chair, and she wrapped her legs around his waist automatically to steady herself. Damon lifted her up with ease, setting her on top of the counter as his lips trailed down the side of her neck, nipping gently but urgently at her skin.

"Mmmm," he moaned against her. "Delicious, just as I knew you would be." He traced her collar bone with the tip of his tongue and she shivered in response. He smiled triumphantly as he moved up to recapture her lips.

She was frantic to touch him, raking her nails over his back and practically tearing off his shirt. He moved his hand up to cup her breast, pinching the nipple. She pressed into his hands, wiggling her hips as she felt the bulge in his black boxer briefs. She needed him _now_. She gripped him firmly through the material; he was hot, hard, and _definitely_ bigger than Stefan. She worked the tiny buttons, drawing him out into the open air and stroking the length of him, loving the way he felt in her hand. Damon was still sliding off her shorts and panties as she slid him against the slick entrance into her body. As soon as he threw her panties to the floor, she wrapped her legs around him and drew him inside.

"Oh, Damon," she cried out. She inhaled sharply as his fingers moved down to rub over her tight bundle of nerves, sending more shocks and shivers through her. As he continued to thrust into her, she heard a high pitched sound in the background and wondered if her ears were ringing. She dug her nails into his back, already feeling like she was about to crash over the edge. Just as she began to spiral, the ringing sound got louder, it was almost a scream now; the kettle reached its boiling point just as she met hers.

Elena shot up from the bed, drenched in sweat and practically throbbing between her legs. She hit the snooze button on her alarm clock, realizing it had been the cause of the high-pitched sound that had interrupted her dream. Her skin was still prickling from where Damon had touched her in the dream, and she cursed out loud, thankful that Stefan had already left for school a few hours ago. She felt disgusted with herself, even though she knew it was just a dream; probably the events from yesterday's dinner manifesting themselves in her subconscious mind. Still, it was wrong for her to be dreaming of Damon doing those things with her; especially when she was sleeping in Stefan's bed. She cursed again in frustration, then threw the covers back and made her way into the bathroom; she desperately needed a shower.

**Author's Note: **I just can't seem to leave this story alone, so here's another chapter, and as promised you even got a lemon ;) See, I told you I'd find a way to work them into this story somehow! I added a bit more to my author's note last chapter, in case you haven't checked it out since I fixed it. Also it would seem FF is having issues because sometimes when I check certain chapters the site tells me the story doesn't exist (WTF?). Also, my internet service out here tends to cut out on me at certain times of the day, but thankfully I at least have my Blackberry.

Anyway, I answered a few questions that kept popping up, so if you're curious you can go check them out in the last chapter and see what's in store. Now, as for this chapter, I know some of you are going to ask, so I'll just explain about Katherine right now and put your minds at ease. She really _did_ die in a fire, and will _not_ be coming back. My reasons for doing this have very little to do with any obstacles for Damon and Elena as a couple, but she _is_ significant to this story in another sense. I'm not going to say anymore, because it will give away a major plot point in this story. Just trust me on this one, okay? I've already got most of this story mapped out in my head, and certain scenes for future chapters have also already been written. As for Damon and Elena, they _will_ happen (obviously, since it's their story) but Elena has a lot of things she needs to sort out first, and I'm not just talking about Stefan. Like I said, you'll just have to wait and see ;)

Also, if any of you haven't had the pleasure of trying Chicken Parmigiana before, you should definitely look up a recipe b/c it is _delicious_. My husband and I make ours using our own mix of bread crumbs and spices, as well as add our own ingredients to the marinara sauces we pick up from the store. My favorites are Roasted Garlic & Herb, Sweet Onion Marinara, and Tomato & Basil. I'm not telling what other spices I add to it, as that's my secret recipe, but I'm sure you can guess at one of them ;) Anyway, after the sauce and pasta (I use Penne) is cooked a bit, I pour the whole thing in a lasagna dish with the chicken strips and cover it with the sauce and LOTS of grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese. I like to bake mine until the cheese is nice and crispy, but you don't have to do it like that; I'm just a real cheese lover. The side of garlic bread with melted marble cheddar on top is optional :) I'm not much of a cook when it comes to other things, but I like to think I'm at least a master chef when it comes to my pasta dishes! Oh, and I bake a pretty good vanilla sugar cookie too, but that's the extent of my talent in the kitchen. My hubby is the chef in this household ;)

Can't wait for more awesome reviews!


	5. Chapter 4: Playing Games Pt I

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, however consider this story mine. Any dialogues not canon from the show as well as any descriptive sentences are the end result of over twenty years of writing. I have poured my heart and soul into every beautiful paragraph, every perfect sentence, every hot and/or romantic scene, and every funny one-liner. To copy this work or any other and claim as one's own, in whole or in part is a criminal offence punishable by ostracism, harassment by my loyal readers, and possibly even dismissal by the MODs. It's not worth it; don't be a thief :)

Chapter 4: Playing Games Part I

_Dear Diary,_

_Well, I think it's safe to say that I'm going out of my mind because why else would I dream something like that about Damon of all people? I mean, sure, he's attractive…okay, fine, he's incredibly sexy; but I shouldn't even be thinking like that in the first place. After all, I'm with Stefan! I love Stefan. _

She stared at what she'd just written, frowning slightly. For some reason, the declaration seemed a little hollow and it unnerved her. She _did_ love Stefan, of _course_ she did; she repeated it in her head several times, as if trying to reassure herself. Things were just a little _strained_ right now between them, but that was just because he was away so much. And as for that little dream, well that was probably just because she was a little _frustrated_ right now; Stefan hadn't even attempted to make love to her in weeks.

She'd tried last night, after he came home from his shift at the hospital, but he'd pulled away and told her he was really tired; seemed like he was _always_ tired these days. Damon, on the other hand, practically oozed sex and his close proximity earlier that day had simply gotten her worked up. It was entirely understandable that she would dream about him; at least that's what she kept telling herself. It meant absolutely nothing.

"Whatcha writing?" Damon asked, pretending to try to read over her shoulder. She slammed the book shut and glared at him with irritation.

"None of your business," she snapped, quickly shoving her diary into her book bag. She'd just have to find some way to scribble the rest of her thoughts down while she was in class later that afternoon.

"Bet it was about me," he smirked.

"You'd lose that bet," she told him, lying through her teeth. "I was writing about Stefan."

"No wonder the paragraph was so short," he taunted her with that knowing look in his eyes that she had come to hate as much as his smirking. "Couldn't really have much to say, all things considered," he added.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Elena asked, her cheeks coloring with furious indignation.

He was still smirking. "Well, for one thing, I haven't heard you two together since I arrived; which leads me to the conclusion that you're not as _satisfied_ with your relationship as you claim to be. Is Baby Brother not measuring up?"

Elena looked away, refusing to say a word. Damon grinned, realizing he'd just discovered another way to make fun of his "little sister Stefanie". Of course he wasn't at all surprised that Stefan was lacking in that department; Elena probably wouldn't have reacted quite as strongly to his presence as she had been if Stefan was actually satisfying her. He bet she didn't even know what a multiple orgasm was, let alone experienced one for herself; he would be more than happy to show her, if she was willing.

She had too much fire in her to be wasted on his innocent brother; there was a reason Katherine had tried to keep both of them, though he never understood why she'd wanted Stefan in the first place. The guy was a pair of fangs and a bucket of glitter away from turning into that Edward guy in Caroline's book; or maybe he was just trapped in the closet. Damon had a few theories about that, since Stefan spent an awful lot of time at the "hospital". He wouldn't tell Elena that, however; from what he'd heard from Caroline and just by simply watching her, he had a feeling she had enough to deal with already without adding suspicions about her boyfriend's sexual preferences to the list. Besides, she'd probably move out and then he wouldn't get to tease her anymore; and he really _liked_ teasing her. She was so cute when she got all riled up over his little comments.

"I thought so," Damon smirked, taking her silence as confirmation that he wasn't far off the mark.

"He's just been really tired," Elena said defensively.

Damon held up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, no need to explain," he said, hopping over the back of the sofa to flop down beside her. She glared at him in obvious annoyance and inched away from him so that she was almost on the arm rest. "It's not like I'm surprised, after all."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Elena snapped. "Stefan and I have a _great_ sex life! He makes me _very_ happy!" She didn't know why she was telling him this, or why it seemed to matter so much for her to convince him; all she knew was that he was seriously pissing her off right now.

"Please!" He rolled his eyes. "I didn't buy that little public display of affection was real for a _second_; that _passionate_ kiss you gave him when he came home was completely staged to get back at me for riling you up," he said, giving her a pointed look that showed he was on to her.

"You're so full of yourself," she said, rolling her eyes at his arrogance. "And you don't affect me as much as you think you do," she added for good measure. She got off the sofa; she'd had enough of Damon and his assumptions about her relationship with his brother. She was almost relieved that it was time to get ready for her afternoon class.

Damon's lips pressed together in a firm line as he watched her leave, his jaw slightly clenched in irritation. So she really thought that, did she? Well, he'd just have to prove her wrong.

When Elena came out of the en-suite bathroom fifteen minutes later, she nearly dropped her towel in surprise. Damon was sprawled out on the bed acting like he belonged there; when he spotted her he gave her his cheekiest smile.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. He really was on a mission to tick her off as much as humanly possible today.

Damon scanned the side table on Stefan's side of the bed, picking up a book at random. "Reading…" he looked at the title and made a face. "Shakespearean Sonnets and Other Love Poems?" he choked, putting the book back down and smirking slightly as he shook his head in amusement; his brother was _so_ gay. He couldn't believe Elena couldn't see that; it was _so obvious_!

"Were you expecting something more to _your_ taste? Sorry to disappoint, but Stefan doesn't make a habit of reading Playboy or Hustler," she snapped, tucking the side of her towel more securely into her cleavage to keep it from slipping; the movement was not lost on Damon and he licked his lips as his eyes lingered there for a moment. She caught where he was looking and reached for something to throw at him on the nearby dresser; she found one of the stuffed teddy bears Stefan bought for her on Valentine's Day last year and tossed it at Damon's head. He caught it and made a big show of hugging it to his chest. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance as he got up from the bed, setting the bear on the pillows before exploring the room. She stood there, still in the towel, and tapped her foot impatiently.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to get dressed now," she said in irritation.

"By all means," he smirked, making no indication that he was going to leave any time soon.

"Ugh!" she growled, quickly pulling a pair of jeans and a teal-colored sweater out of the dresser, along with a random pair of underwear and a bra before storming back into the bathroom to change. She slammed the door, and Damon chuckled to himself; she was just so much _fun_ when she was mad at him.

He couldn't help noticing that she'd left the top drawer open, and curiosity got the better of him; after all, women often kept interesting things hidden in their underwear drawer. He smirked, spotting a package of unopened black fishnet stockings at the back of the drawer; little Elena had a naughty side. He was admiring a particularly lacy red bra when the bathroom door swung open. Elena furiously snatched it out of his hands, nearly slamming the door shut on his fingers.

"I thought I made it clear I wanted you to _leave_," she said, crossing her arms in front of her.

"You did," he replied, still smirking in amusement at her. "I decided I would have more fun if I stayed!" He winked at her.

"Yeah, well I don't think Stefan would appreciate knowing you were in his room," she countered, trying another tactic.

He stared at her for a second, giving her a contemplative look. "What?" she asked. Why was he looking at her like that?

"I just find it _interesting_ that you said _Stefan's room_," he explained.

Elena frowned. "Why?" she asked, confused.

He smirked, realizing she had no idea why it was so odd to call it _his_ room when technically it was hers now as well. "No reason," Damon shrugged, dropping the subject for now.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You're infuriating!"

"Thank you," he grinned.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" she sighed in exasperation.

"Nope! I'd rather play with you!" He flopped back onto the bed and patted the spot next to him, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She pretended to ignore his blatant invitation.

"Do you _ever_ leave the house? I mean besides to go bar hopping and pick up women?"

He smirked again, eyes lighting up in amusement. "Well, I _do_ have a little side business," he admitted. Elena had a feeling she really didn't want to know; something about the way he looked at her when he said it, as if he knew it would shock her.

"Why do I get the feeling I _don't_ want to know?" she asked, immediately regretting her words. The devilish look in his eyes was unmistakable.

"You probably don't," he shrugged. "But I bet you're dying of curiosity anyway."

She stared up at the ceiling, looking anywhere but at him. He simply watched her, the smirk still on his face; he just loved messing with her head. Finally after a few minutes she sighed in defeat and looked at him pointedly, as if waiting for him to tell her.

"Okay fine, spill it," she said.

He shook his head. "Guess," he told her, grinning cheekily.

She glared at him in annoyance again. "You're impossible," she muttered.

"I know," he beamed as if she'd just given him a compliment. When he didn't say anything else she sighed again and tried to think of what he could be doing to earn an income.

"Drug dealer?" she asked, only half-joking.

He made a face. "Seriously?" he arched an eyebrow at her. She shrugged her shoulders as if to say nothing would surprise her. He rolled his eyes. "Guess again."

"Male Escort?"

"Please!" He rolled his eyes again.

"Porn Star?" She was, of course, joking.

He grinned. "Now _that_ would be interesting, wouldn't it?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her.

"Gross," she said in disgust. "Well I'd suggest _stripper_, but what woman would actually pay you for _that_?"

He smirked at her, amused that she guessed so quickly. Elena certainly had a dirty little mind. "Technically I'm a _private entertainer_," he told her.

Elena's eyebrows shot up to her hairline in shock. "Seriously?" she gasped, unable to believe it.

Damon nodded his head, still grinning at her. "You'd be surprised how much some women are willing to pay to have me at their private parties; almost as surprised as you would be if you knew who the hostess of most of them is."

Elena continued to stare at him in shock, and little bit of disgust; did he really have no shame at all? "You couldn't possibly make enough money doing _that_," she spat the words out with distaste.

"Well, no," Damon admitted. "That's just a side-business, like I said. The real money's in the night club industry. I've been busy purchasing and fixing up quite a few of them all over the country, using all that money my father left us in our inheritance. I even re-invested some of the profits into the stock market, so I don't really _need_ to work if I don't feel like it. I just make sure to check up on my investments every few months and collect the profits."

"Then why…?" Elena started to ask.

"Because I have a hot body, I enjoy the attention from the ladies, and it's _fun_," he replied.

"Fun?" she repeated, looking at him incredulously.

"Yeah," he said. "_Fun_; as in the thing you don't like to have," he arched his eyebrow at her, smirking slightly again.

"I have _fun_," Elena protested.

"Oh yeah," he challenged, "Name one time in the last six months, when you let loose and just enjoyed yourself without worrying about the consequences!"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head; she really didn't feel like explaining herself to him. "I don't have time for this," she muttered. "I have a class to go to." Without another word, she grabbed her book bag and left the room. Damon lay back on the pillows, trying to think of ways to get Elena to loosen up a bit more. After all, Caroline had hinted that Elena used to be a lot more fun, and he was curious to meet "Fun Elena". The problem was that she rarely left the house except to go to class or pick up the groceries, so it wasn't like he could just "accidentally" run into her at The Mystic Grill and convince her to have a few shots with him. He suddenly got an idea, and grinned devilishly; if she wouldn't go where the fun was, then he'd just have to bring it to her.

**Author's Note:** I debated with myself whether or not to post this now, since there's a whole second part to this chapter. But my guilt at not updating in a while won out, so here you are! The next part is going to be…entertaining ;) If any of you are curious about certain "spoilers" for my chapters, I just wanted to remind you all that I have a special account on Facebook where I often post little spoilers, as well as have little discussions with my readers on certain ideas I might like to hear their opinions on. Also, there's a little present on my Live Journal account accessible only to friends, so you'll have to add me if you want to see the goodies. Ask BadBoysAreBest and Damon's_86; it's worth the hassle of getting an account ;) Just check my profile page for details on how to get to both my pages! I'll give you a hint…LiveJournal has certain links to certain files that depict a certain yummy actor we all love in certain steamy scenes on HBO that are DEFINITELY not safe for work ;p NykkiLeighVampireHeart also has a site where you can access them, so check out and review her story Hardest of Hearts and her other awesome works, and thank her profusely for letting me know about those clips so that I could do more "research" and find ways to get the files. And while you're at it, also thank Damon's_86 for her part in finding the MegaUpload links to make downloading them even easier.

And now to work on Part II of this chapter…

Be Good and Review!


	6. Chapter 5: Playing Games Pt II

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, however consider this story mine. Any dialogues not canon from the show as well as any descriptive sentences are the end result of over twenty years of writing. I have poured my heart and soul into every beautiful paragraph, every perfect sentence, every hot and/or romantic scene, and every funny one-liner. To copy this work or any other and claim as one's own, in whole or in part is a criminal offence punishable by ostracism, harassment by my loyal readers, and possibly even dismissal by the MODs. It's not worth it; don't be a thief :)

Chapter 5: Playing Games Part II

Elena was emotionally drained by the time she returned back to the boarding house around eight o'clock. Her afternoon class had turned into a nightmare when her instructor handed back her paper with a failing grade and suggested she see an academic counselor as soon as possible. Then she'd received a text from Stefan telling her he was going to be pulling a double-shift tonight and that he would likely just stay all night at the hospital; his timing was impeccable, considering Damon was already questioning the validity of their relationship as it was. This would just give him something else to tease her about; fan-freaking-tastic. If that wasn't bad enough, Isobel had left a voicemail message reminding Elena that she still expected her to meet with her at the Mystic Grill tomorrow, and to not be late this time. Elena sighed wearily, parking the car in the driveway and killing the engine. She grabbed her bag from the seat beside her, locked the vehicle, and made her way toward the door; she was looking forward to a little peace and quiet and to unwind after such a hellish day.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like she'd be able to relax at all; there was a pile of unfamiliar shoes and coats in the entryway, and loud obnoxious voices were coming from the living room.

"Uh oh, Caroline, looks like you win again," Damon's voice echoed out into the hallway. "Hope I'm wearing my good underwear." There was a lot of giggling, coming from several different women. A few men were laughing boisterously, and as she tried to sneak past the doorway she heard Caroline squeal excitedly.

"Elena!" she called to her, holding up a glass tumbler full of something that looked fruity and full of alcohol. "Come join us!" She motioned her over with her free hand, her cheeks bright red due to her obvious state of intoxication.

Damon smirked at her, winking as he unzipped his jeans and wiggled his hips again.

"Take it off already," a rather obnoxious woman with an English accent catcalled to him, trying to bring his attention back to the game of Strip Poker. So far, it looked like Damon was losing since Caroline was still in her bra, pleated red mini skirt, and knee-high socks. As Elena glanced over at the rest of the group, she immediately recognized Tyler Lockwood (still in his jeans and white wife-beater) and his girlfriend Vicki Donovan (wearing only a pair of skin-tight jeans and a black lace bra that she was almost spilling out of). The other couple in the room appeared to be new in town, since Elena had never seen them before. The woman had short brown hair and was wearing a pair of dark pants with a black lace camisole, her brown leather jacket and blue tank top discarded on the floor next to her. Her male companion had his hair cut almost the same, though his was a little longer and came down to his chin. He was sitting in just a pair of jeans.

"Now, Rose, don't be rude!" Damon smirked, scolding the woman. "We have another player," he motioned toward Elena, causing the entire party to direct their attention on her.

Rose's companion turned his head to look at Elena and smiled.

"No need to be a stranger now," he coaxed in the same accent as his girlfriend. "We won't bite."

"Unless you want us to," Tyler added, obviously plastered. Elena ignored him and shook her head, politely trying to decline the invitation.

Vicki rolled her eyes in obvious annoyance; she always had been a stuck up bitch. Elena was glad Jeremy had wised up and kicked her to the curb his junior year; she'd been part of his self-destructive phase after the accident, but fortunately that ended after he met Anna.

"That's okay, I'm going to just go upstairs and work on my assignments," she said.

Caroline rolled her eyes and got up from the sofa, nearly crashing into the coffee table on her way over to Elena.

"Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud," she slurred, grabbing her hand and trying to drag her into the room. "Come on."

Elena reluctantly allowed Caroline to pull her over to the table. "Okay, fine, but just one game," she said firmly.

Caroline grinned wickedly. "Deal," she agreed, handing Elena a shot of Tequila. "But first you have to catch up to the rest of us," she giggled.

Elena sighed, knowing that she was going to regret this, but downed the shot anyway. It burned her throat and she shuddered at the taste before sitting down on the sofa next to her best friend. Caroline beamed.

"Great! So you remember Tyler and Vicki, right?" Elena nodded, waving at them. Tyler nodded his head, smiling at her in acknowledgment, and Vicki pretended to study her fingernails.

"Good to see you again, Elena," Tyler said.

"You too," Elena replied.

Caroline then directed her attention to the slightly older couple, which consisted of the obnoxious woman, whom Damon had called "Rose", and her companion. He appeared to be more easy-going of the two.

"And this is Rose and her boyfriend Trevor; they just arrived in town a week ago. Damon and I met them at The Grill and thought they'd like to join us tonight."

"A pleasure to meet you, Elena," Trevor smiled. Rose gave her a withering look and said "Hello," in her haughty voice. Clearly Rose and Vicki had a lot in common, personality-wise.

"Okay, so whose turn is it?" Elena asked, wanting to get this over with.

Rose grinned lasciviously and eyed Damon like he was a tasty dessert; for some reason Trevor didn't seem at all bothered by her behavior. "Damon was about to give us another show," she replied, staring at him impatiently.

Damon smirked, looking pointedly at Elena. "Now that would hardly be fair for me to be down to nothing but my underwear when our newest player is still overdressed," he teased, zipping his pants back up.

Rose glared at her; as if it was _her_ fault she wasn't getting her eye candy. "Well then perhaps _she_ should lose a few layers," she suggested with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

Elena didn't know why she did it, maybe it was the fact that it had been a long time since she'd had alcohol; maybe it was the fact that Tequila was called "Liquid Panty Remover" for a reason; or maybe she just wanted to show up that bitch Rose; whatever it was, Elena whipped off her shirt and camisole, leaving her in her blue satin bra.

"Satisfied now?" she snapped, pouring another shot and downing it in seconds flat.

Damon stared at her in amazement, his mouth slightly open; he was already starting to like Party Girl Elena, and he had a feeling she was just getting started.

"So are we gonna do this now or what?" she asked the room, already feeling the tension from earlier leave her; she couldn't remember the last time she'd been able to just relax and have fun like this.

Damon smirked at her in amusement. "That eager to get me undressed, are you?"

He expected her to throw something at him, as was her usual reaction, but instead she giggled; Damon was surprised she knew _how_, considering how uptight she was most of the time. He was _really_ starting to like _this_ Elena; though uptight Elena was still fun to tease. He watched as her irises changed color, darkening with unmistakable lust as he undid the button of his jeans and tugged on the zipper. He suddenly wished that they didn't have an audience, because the way Elena was licking her lips was driving him to distraction. His gaze focused on her, he slid his jeans off his hips slowly before letting them fall to the floor. All the women in the room were openly staring at him in obvious appreciation, but his eyes were fixed solely on Elena; he could see the look of pure hunger in her expression, and a triumphant grin spread across his lips. Oh yeah, she definitely wanted him; she was practically drooling.

Elena was entranced; her breaths were shallow and her skin prickled in excitement as she took in his perfectly chiseled muscles and flawless skin. He was _definitely_ wearing his good underwear, as far as she was concerned. The black boxer briefs were tight in all the right spots, and her gaze once again fell to that prominent bulge beneath the perfect V of his hip bones and the tempting dark treasure trail. She couldn't help it; an image of her on her knees before him appeared unbidden into her mind, and she wondered if his skin would taste as good as he looked. Clearly the Tequila had already lowered her inhibitions considerably.

"Okay, same rules as before," Caroline said; handing everyone two chips each. "You can choose to either opt out now, or choose to play. Once the cards are dealt, if you decide to fold, you forfeit one of your chips. If you're in, you can choose to discard and draw cards once, and if after that initial draw you want to fold, you forfeit two chips. If you have no chips left, you have to play. The game ends when everyone else either folds or loses the hand, and one person remains. And all the losers of each hand must forfeit one article of clothing until they are down to their underwear."

"I still say bras shouldn't count as underwear," Tyler complained. Damon nodded his agreement, winking at Elena and Caroline.

"Well you were out-voted," Caroline said, smiling sweetly before switching the topic back to the rules of the game. "Okay, so once any player is down to their underwear, they have a chance to win back articles of clothing until they have paid three penalties or the game ends; whichever comes first. You're out after your three penalties, and the game ends when all but one person has done their penalty shots; any questions?"

Tyler raised his hand, grinning lasciviously at Caroline. "Can we do body shots?" he asked, earning a smack on the arm from Vicki.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. "If _some _people want to do shots off each other, then that's fine, but nobody has to do anything they're not comfortable with. If the partner of your choice is willing, then I don't see a problem with it; might make the game more interesting." She winked at Damon, as if they were sharing a secret between them. "Okay, so before I deal the cards, are we all in?" she asked.

Everyone nodded and she dealt everyone their cards. Elena was pleased to see that she'd received a pretty decent hand; a pair of Aces and three tens. Everyone else appeared to be tossing and drawing new cards; nobody wanted to fold, since that was hardly entertaining. Finally everyone was ready.

"Okay, so if you have a sucky hand and want to fold now, you have to cash in both chips; but keep in mind that the next round you'll _have_ to play. And remember, Aces are high, no wild cards."

Once again, everyone refused to fold. Caroline grinned. "Okay, show me what you've got," she said cheekily. Obviously she had a decent hand, but as everyone laid down their cards it was clear that everyone else did too. Rose had the worst hand, only having a pair of Queens. She sighed, removing her black pants to reveal boy-short lace underwear that matched her camisole. Vicki tossed down her three eights and winked cheekily at Tyler before shimmying out of her jeans; Elena was surprised that Vicki even _wore_ underwear, though not surprisingly it was almost a G-string with how little it covered in the back. Trevor was next, with three Jacks, and removed his jeans. He wore grey boxer briefs underneath. The rest of the group had a Full House Showdown, with both Damon (with three sixes and two Queens) and Tyler (with a pair of sevens and three Kings) getting beaten out by the girls. Tyler removed his shirt, leaving him as the only guy still wearing pants, and Damon simply waited patiently to take his penalty; obviously he wanted to do a body shot off someone. Elena couldn't help wondering who he would choose, and a small (terribly naughty) part of her was hoping he'd ask her; she was certain it was the Tequila talking right now, since if she were sober she was certain she wouldn't have considered it for a second. She was so preoccupied with her lascivious thoughts that her brain didn't register that she'd won this round; she and Caroline both had a pair of Aces, but Elena's three nines beat out Caroline's fives. Only after Caroline pouted and stepped out of her skirt did Elena realize she was the winner. She grinned and poured herself a "victory shot" to congratulate herself; she'd never recalled ever winning a game of Strip Poker when they'd first learned to play in Junior Year. Matt or Tyler had usually won, getting the girls quite plastered in the process, as they'd never stopped after only three penalties; that was a new rule Caroline had implemented after a rather unfortunate streaking incident that almost got them all arrested for indecent exposure. It was fortunate that her mother just so happened to be the Sheriff, though she still called everyone's parents; the only ones not grounded for a month were Matt and Vicki, since Kelly Donovan was hardly home enough to enforce such a thing.

"Wanna take a penalty with me, Caroline?" Damon winked, holding up his shot glass. Caroline nodded eagerly and got up to sit on Damon's lap, giggling with excitement. Elena felt a pang of jealousy, but assumed it was just because she was the only one in the group without her partner; not that she was sure Stefan would have played with her if he was here, or if he'd approve of her doing this in the first place. Luckily, she was letting the Tequila make all her decisions right now; and it was telling her that she deserved to have some fun and forget about her problems tonight. It was just a good thing she didn't have any classes tomorrow so she could nurse her eventual hangover; because she intended to get very drunk before the night ended.

Her eyes immediately focused on Damon as he slowly traced his tongue up the side of Caroline's neck before sprinkling the salt there. Unconsciously, Elena licked her lips; her pulse sped up as she watched his tongue gliding sensuously to lick up the salt, and a part of her was a little envious. Her skin prickled with excitement as she imagined herself in her friend's place; she could almost feel his lips against her skin, the heat of his breath on her neck, and the soft tickle of his tongue as it trailed down her neck to just above her breasts.

Damon could sense Elena's eyes on him and a soft smile of satisfaction spread across his lips. He slid his tongue downward to the tops of Caroline's breasts before closing his lips over the shot glass she had placed between them. When he'd downed the shot and taken the slice of lime from Caroline's mouth, he pulled back and briefly locked eyes with Elena. There was an unmistakable flush of color to her skin, and he had a feeling that beneath those jeans, her panties were noticeably damp; he decided his goal for the next round would be to find out. He pinched Caroline's thigh lightly to get her attention; it was their code for beginning Phase 1 of their diabolical plan. She winked at him and slowly slid off his lap before sauntering back over to her spot next to Elena.

"Your turn," she said saucily, handing Elena the deck of cards. As Elena was about to shuffle them, Caroline leaned in and whispered "Let's hope Damon loses again; he's _amazing_ with that tongue of his."

Elena's breath hitched slightly at her words, and Caroline discreetly smirked at Damon in confirmation; so far their plan was working perfectly. Matt had been seething with jealousy earlier when they were gathering their party together at The Mystic Grill, and now their provocative game was having the desired effect on Elena. Caroline had been right; Tequila and Strip Poker had been the perfect way to break Elena out of her shell. Now all he had to do was lose another hand or two and hopefully entice her into letting him do a body shot off her. Caroline was deliberately sitting next to her in order to gauge her reactions to him; so far, she was still keeping her guard up, but from the look Caroline gave him, she was most _definitely_ attracted.

Elena could already feel the effects of the alcohol trying to block out all rational thought, and knew that if she stayed for another game she would be tempted (_really_ tempted) to toss all her inhibitions out the window. At some point, Damon would lose another hand; she wasn't sure she would be able to handle a repeat of what had just taken place, nor would she be able to resist him if he asked to do a shot with _her_. The entire situation was dangerous; especially when she took into account both her dreams and her sexually frustrated state. She handed the deck of cards to a confused Tyler, standing up despite the dizziness that overcame her.

"I'm out," she announced to the room.

Caroline frowned. "But you just started playing," she pouted. "One more game? Please?"

God, she was so tempted to give in; it had been such a long time since she'd had so much fun, but she knew she couldn't. Not when that _fun_ evening included Damon.

"Sorry," she said apologetically. "But I really have to write that paper tonight. It was fun though!" She turned, smiling at Trevor and Rose. "It was nice meeting you."

Damon and Caroline both frowned as they watched her leave the room. As soon as she was out of earshot, Caroline sighed in frustration.

"Well _that_ didn't work," she pouted, glancing pointedly at Damon. "Got any _more_ brilliant ideas on how we can get the _old_ Elena back?"

Damon smirked, knowing that the game was far from over; in fact, it had only just begun. After all, Elena hadn't left because she could resist him; she'd left because she knew she _couldn't_.

**Author's Note:** Hope you all enjoyed that, b/c at some point I'm going to have to put this story aside and focus on "All I Need" again. I know; I've been very bad for not updating it in a while, but what can I say? I love the sexual tension in this one and I was having way too much fun to switch over just yet. I will be posting the link to the site where I got my rules for Strip Poker, in case anyone's curious ;) The body shots as penalties was all my idea though, since I wanted to raise the stakes a bit. Q&A Time!

_**What exactly are Damon's motives right now concerning Elena?**_

Damon is attracted to her, and he genuinely likes her. He's not aware that he's in love with her at this point, but he does know he feels something for her. As to the reasons why he's teasing her, he likes getting a rise out of her and feels she's not "right" for his boring little brother and belongs with _him_ instead (as a Delena supporter, I wholeheartedly agree).

_**What is going on with Stefan?**_

Those of you who are on my friends list already know the answer to this question. Those of you who aren't will just have to wait and see ;)

_**What's going on between Damon and Caroline?**_

They're friends with benefits, but there _is_ something else at work here as well. Caroline wants the old, fun Elena back and she agrees with Damon that Stefan is not the right guy for her. They have a plan to bring back Fun Elena, and get her to realize her attraction to Damon so that she leaves Stefan. She is also using Damon to make Matt jealous, and it _is_ working. As to whether or not it will result in her getting him back though…that's another story ;)

_**Who else is in on the plan?**_

Everyone at the party is in on it. Tyler was part of Elena and Caroline's social circle in the past and Vicki's just along for the ride b/c she's dating him (she doesn't really care whether they get Fun Elena back or not). Trevor and Rose have roles to play later. No, she will NOT be hooking up with Damon. I can't stomach that on the show, and I'm waiting impatiently for the new episodes to begin and crossing my fingers that the only cure for a werewolf bite is a stake through the heart *rubs hands together gleefully at the thought*.

_If you have any more questions, I'll answer them next chapter! In the meantime, I'm gonna try to get my muse to cooperate and focus her attention on "All I Need" and the much-anticipated Dinner. _


	7. Chapter 6: I Get to You

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, however consider this story mine. Any dialogues not canon from the show as well as any descriptive sentences are the end result of over twenty years of writing. I have poured my heart and soul into every beautiful paragraph, every perfect sentence, every hot and/or romantic scene, and every funny one-liner. To copy this work or any other and claim as one's own, in whole or in part is a criminal offence punishable by ostracism, harassment by my loyal readers, and possibly even dismissal by the MODs. It's not worth it; don't be a thief :)

Chapter 6: I Get to You

Elena laid her cards onto the table with a triumphant smirk on her face.

"Royal Flush!" she crowed. "Read 'em and weep!"

Damon set his pair of Kings and three Aces down, sighing dramatically. "And another round goes to Elena," he said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were cheating." He arched his brow suspiciously and she giggled, handing him the half-empty bottle of Tequila.

"Sure you don't wanna try a body shot with me?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Elena bit her lip nervously; realizing just how quickly things could escalate from here. Everyone else had gone home a few hours ago, and she'd somehow allowed Damon to talk her into another game of Strip Poker. She hadn't really thought about how dangerous it was to be alone with him until now; almost naked Damon and Tequila were a _bad_ combination as it was, but to have his mouth on her even for a second would be her undoing.

Damon moved closer to her on the couch, turning his body so that she could see the perfectly chiseled muscles of his chest and flat stomach. He held the shot glass out to her, his eyes full of challenge and longing.

"Just one taste?" he purred seductively. "I know you want to…"

Elena licked her lips; her heart was beating so fast in reaction to the heat she could already feel between them. Not sure she would be able to trust her voice to work for her at the moment, she nodded her head.

Damon smiled softly before leaning in to brush the softest kiss against the side of her neck. She shivered in response as he swirled his tongue over the sensitive patch of skin before dipping his head lower; for a moment she forgot everything and let him taste her. He pressed soft kisses over the swells of her breasts, placing one hand at her back to hold her in place. Elena gasped, choking out little sounds of pleasure as he pushed one cup of her bra to the side and closed his lips over the pebbled nipple. She raked her fingers through his hair in encouragement, whimpering when he suddenly took the delicious feelings away.

He gave her a devilish smirk and reached for the salt shaker on the table. "Now where should I put it," he mused, shaking it teasingly as he leaned in again. "Should I put it here?" He licked the side of her neck and she gasped again before closing her eyes in pleasure. He pulled away, and she could only imagine he was shaking his head.

"No, that won't do at all," he said.

Elena shivered as she felt his lips brushing across her collar bone. "How about here?" he whispered against her skin. She was dimly aware that she was leaning back against the couch cushions, and he was now hovering over her. He swirled his tongue over the tip of her still exposed nipple before pulling away. "No…" he sighed. "That's not the right spot either." She had a feeling he was deliberately teasing her now, and her skin was now prickling with excitement and anticipation of his next touch. She jumped slightly as his fingers brushed over the sides of her waist and hips.

"Maybe…here?" Damon rasped, inching down the couch to place an open-mouthed kiss over her ribcage.

Her skin was heating up with every soft caress and touch of his lips and her belly quivered as he placed his next kiss just above the waistband of her panties. He looked up at her, grinning like the cat about to eat the canary; the analogy wasn't so far off the mark, either. The way he was looking at her right now, she wouldn't be surprised if that was his next destination.

"Here…" he whispered; and then his tongue circled her belly button before tracing a line from one hip bone to the other. Elena could hardly stop her thighs from trembling as he did it again; she felt the smirk of his lips as they pressed against her skin.

"Yes," he purred, nuzzling into her and sending more shivers up her spine. "Right…" he flicked his tongue over a particularly sensitive patch of skin at her waist and she inhaled sharply. "…here," he finished as he placed a kiss there and pulled away slightly; just enough to be able to sprinkle the salt on her skin.

By this point Elena could hardly control her heavy breathing and she desperately wanted him to either finish the shot, or put her out of her misery; possibly both. She gripped the couch cushion as his teasingly wicked tongue came out to play again, lapping up the salt as slowly as he possibly could. Elena didn't think about what she was doing and automatically her hand reached downward to stroke his hair and hold him in place; the original purpose of this little exercise long forgotten.

"Please," she whispered, parting her thighs in blatant invitation for him to continue. She threw her head back and let out a sharp cry when his lips touched her through the damp cotton.

"Already, Elena?" he teased her. "I haven't even started yet."

She would have told him to shut up, but he didn't give her the chance; his mouth was on her again, his tongue flicking out and searching for that little bundle of nerves. When he found it she cried out his name and grasped another handful of his thick dark hair; she barely noticed when he suddenly drew her panties to the side and closed his lips over the sensitive little bud.

"Damon…" she whined softly, arching her back slightly to give him more access to her. Damon hooked his fingers into the waistband of her panties and slid off the couch, tugging the fabric down as he shifted her into a more comfortable position. Her legs now draped over his shoulders, leaving her completely open to him. She let out another sharp cry as his lips closed over her sensitive flesh and his tongue flicked over her like a candle's flame; she was practically melting from the sensations he was evoking within her. Her entire body was on fire; the heat licked up her thighs and continued its way up her spine to prickle at the back of her neck. She couldn't breathe; couldn't think; couldn't do anything other than half-lie, half-sit on the couch in a quivering mess as Damon worked her body to a fever-pitch. Her thighs locked around him, trying to hold him in place. He worked his thumbs in tight circles to massage them and release some of the tension even as his mouth continued to tease her; taking her higher until she was straddling the line between exquisite torture and extreme pleasure, and refusing to let her fall just yet.

"Please," she whimpered again, bucking her hips to get him to press harder against her and end this torment. She screamed out her pleasure as his tongue pressed into her, cradling the little bud as he switched the tempo and brought her closer to the edge. She writhed on the couch, having never felt anything so intense in her life. The coil inside her was ready to snap, and the pressure just kept building…and building…until…

Elena gasped, shooting up from the bed as her heart continued to pound in her chest. She was still tingling from the intense sensations her overactive imagination had created within her, and cursed out loud; she really needed to stop dreaming about Damon. As she slowly sat up to get into a more comfortable position, she became aware of the fact that she was still in her jeans and bra, and that there were an assortment of papers and books around her. The clock on her nightstand indicated that it was barely ten at night, and she groaned in realization that her drinking session earlier had caused her to pass out while working on her assignments; perfect, now she wouldn't be able to fall asleep tonight. Her stomach chose that moment to remind her that she hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and her legs shook as she attempted to stand; the after-effects of her dream obviously still not out of her system. As soon as she was confident enough that she would be able to walk, she made her way to the dresser and grabbed a blue tank top with lace detailing on the straps and slipped it on before heading out into the hallway.

She could hear the raucous laughter coming from the living room; fortunately everyone was still involved in their little drinking games and too drunk to notice her sneaking past the room and into the kitchen. She was grateful for the reprieve, not wanting to deal with anyone at the moment. Just as she was searching through the refrigerator for some leftovers to heat up for dinner, she felt a presence behind her and nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around, coming face to face with the very last person she wanted to see right now; clearly divine forces were at work here to make her life a living hell.

"You scared me," she gasped, shutting the fridge door and pressing her back against it in an attempt to distance herself from him. "What are you doing here?"

Damon gave her a conspiratory wink. "I'm…" he looked around the room, as if he wanted to make sure they were alone. "I'm hiding from Caroline," he whispered, cupping his hand to the side of his mouth.

"And why is that?" she whispered back.

Damon shrugged. "I needed a break," he explained. "She talks more than I can listen."

"That could be a sign," Elena said. She couldn't help feeling a little smug that things weren't as serious as she'd thought. The last thing Caroline needed was to be in a rebound relationship with a guy like Damon.

"Well, she's awfully young," he said, as if that was a reasonable explanation.

Elena felt the sting of his comment deeper than she'd thought; after all, she and Caroline were the same age. She didn't know why it bothered her so much, but she felt she had to set the record straight on their age difference.

"Not that much older than you," she countered, crossing her arms.

Damon must have caught her double meaning because he immediately tried to cover up his mistake in saying she and Caroline were too young.

"I just don't see it going anywhere in the bigger picture," he explained seriously, as if his declaration that he and Caroline weren't exclusive would somehow sway her opinion of him. "I think she'd drive me crazy," he added teasingly.

Elena knew what he was doing, and she didn't like it. Not only was it presumptuous of him to think that the only reason she wasn't jumping his bones was because of her loyalty to her best friend, but it was incredibly insulting that he'd think she was anything like those other women of his past. She crossed her arms, glaring disapprovingly.

"Caroline does have some annoying traits, but we've been friends since the first grade and that means something to me," she said in a warning tone, as if she dared him to try to mess with her friend's affections.

Damon looked taken aback by her hostile tone and softened his expression to one of congenial disposition. "Duly noted," he said, trying to appear genuinely apologetic for his actions. "I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable; that's not my intention." He gave her a charming smile, obviously hoping to win her over just as easily as he had those other women he probably initially pissed off. God, he was just so incredibly arrogant to think she would swoon and fall into his arms just because he'd flashed her a sexy smile and did that eye thing of his; she wasn't falling for it for a second.

"Yes, it is," Elena said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Otherwise you wouldn't put an alternate meaning behind everything you say."

Damon smirked, nodding his head slightly in agreement. "You're right," he conceded, dropping the fake nice guy act immediately. "I do have other intentions," he told her seriously. "But so do you."

Elena tilted her head to the side, as if daring him to feed her another line. "Really?" she asked, eyeing him skeptically.

Damon nodded. "I see 'em," he confirmed, looking deeply into her eyes as if he was staring into the depths of her soul. "You want me," he said, barely above a whisper.

"Excuse me?" Elena said indignantly, pretending that she wasn't affected just like she had done all of the other times he'd tried to call her out on her attraction to him; this time he wouldn't let her brush him off so easily. Her back was completely pressed against the refrigerator and she could feel the heat radiating from him as he leaned closer to her, as if whispering a secret.

"I get to you, you find yourself drawn to me, you think about me even when you don't wanna think about me," he listed everything off in a casual but seductive tone. Elena could already feel her knees starting to shake as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I bet you even _dream_ about me," he rasped. Elena bit her lip to keep her expressions neutral; if he knew about last night and earlier this evening, she wouldn't be able to deny her attraction anymore. The gleam in his eyes as he pulled back to study her reactions to his statement told her that he somehow already knew. Oh god, had he _heard_ her last night? Did she talk in her sleep? The images of her dream played out in her mind, and she distinctly remembered calling out his name in the throes of her passion. She was dimly aware that they were standing not even a few feet away from the island countertop where that fantasy had played out and unconsciously her gaze fell to his lips.

"And right now," Damon purred, "You want to kiss me."

He was leaning in, just a few inches away from fulfilling her fantasy; she knew she needed to make a choice. She could give in, say to hell with the consequences, and let him kiss her, or…

She felt the sting against the palm of her hand as it came into contact with his cheek. She couldn't believe she'd actually slapped him, but she'd been desperate to stop him before they did something that neither of them would ever be able to take back. She was with _Stefan_, she reminded herself. Regardless of her deeply puzzling, all-consuming attraction to Damon, this just couldn't happen.

"What the hell?" she demanded, hiding behind a mask of fury and indignation even as her heart still pounded in her chest and her skin still prickled at his nearness. "I don't know what game you're trying to play with Stefan here, but I don't want to be part of it. And I don't know what happened in the past, but let's get one thing straight; I am NOT Katherine!"

She didn't wait for him to apologize, taking advantage of his momentary shock to escape the confines of the kitchen and head for the stairs. She'd grab something to eat later, after she'd managed to calm down. Right now, staying in that kitchen with him one more second would result in her going down a very dangerous path; she wasn't at all prepared to deal with the consequences. As soon as the bedroom door shut behind her, she sank to the floor and placed her head in her hands. What the hell was _wrong_ with her; had she really been about to throw her entire future with Stefan away for one night of meaningless, passionate sex with his _brother_?" The entire situation was incredibly messed up, and she had a feeling things would only get worse; Damon wasn't the type to give up, after all. She groaned as another image of them in the kitchen popped into her head. She got up from the floor, heading over to the small writing table; she needed to get her thoughts out on paper before they drove her to do something crazy. Unfortunately she couldn't trust that _someone_ would respect her privacy enough to not read her diary, and she couldn't have him finding out just how right he was about her attraction. No, writing down the _exact_ events in a journal entry wouldn't be too smart, however if she changed things and made it into a story…

She smiled to herself, feeling incredibly clever for finding a way to release her frustrations and at the same time focus on something she truly loved. Grabbing a handful of loose-leaf paper, she set to work immediately. As the pen scrawled over the paper, Elena could feel the tension melting away; soon was deeply immersed in the story and lost to the rest of the world.

**Author's Note:** Don't you all just love me for that lemon? I noticed quite a few of you were disappointed that the fun was cut short in the last chapter, so I thought I'd make it up to you ;)

Believe me when I say that I didn't want the fun to end so soon either, but had I gone ahead and let Elena have that little taste of what Damon had to offer, I doubt she would have been able to resist him later in the kitchen (would you?) and that would have seriously screwed up my storyline. So do you forgive me yet? Anyway, there are just a few things I need to clear up here. First, in case some of you are still wondering, this is an AU all-human story—but Damon still bites when asked ;) Second, this story is going to be of epic length so certain events are not happening for a while. Elena is NOT going to give in any time soon; at least not until she breaks up with Stefan (and she will, just be patient). In this time, Damon is a free man and he's allowed to have some fun with Caroline. It's not serious for either one of them, and he won't be seeing her in that sense once Elena is single again. Next chapter is partly written already and deals with Elena's "story". I'm pretty excited about it since I just loved writing the banter between Damon and Elena once he finds it. I won't give away any more.

Now I need a break, so I'm going to play Sims 2 and see how many kids I can make the Merchant's wife have before the "week" is up. I'm playing a Medieval world (custom content downloaded off the internet is awesome!) and I need a lot more seamstresses for the cottage industry if this family is ever going to prosper in textiles.

Be good and review!


	8. Chapter 7: I Bet You Even Dream About Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, however consider this story mine. Any dialogues not canon from the show as well as any descriptive sentences are the end result of over twenty years of writing. I have poured my heart and soul into every beautiful paragraph, every perfect sentence, every hot and/or romantic scene, and every funny one-liner. To copy this work or any other and claim as one's own, in whole or in part is a criminal offence punishable by ostracism, harassment by my loyal readers, and possibly even dismissal by the MODs. It's not worth it; don't be a thief :)

Chapter 7: I Bet You Even Dream About Me

Elena moaned softly in her sleep, rolling onto her back as she felt the soft brush of fingertips on her cheek. The touch was so light, almost lovingly tender and for a moment she simply lay there; her mind still convinced she was dreaming. It wasn't until she felt the soft press of lips on her temple that she wondered if perhaps she wasn't dreaming after all. Her eyes fluttered open and she noticed the shadowed form of a man hovering over her in the darkness. She wasn't afraid, however; she would know that scent of leather and spices anywhere.

"Damon?" she whispered, slightly confused. What was he doing here? And why was she back in her old bedroom?

"Sorry," he rasped. "I didn't mean to wake you." There was a sort of ethereal beauty in the way he smiled at her, and she couldn't help but stare into those perfectly blue eyes of his.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, sitting up slightly on her bed.

"I came to apologize for earlier," he told her.

Elena arched one of her eyebrows at him suspiciously. "You snuck into my room this late at night to apologize?" she asked.

"Well, sort of," he replied vaguely.

Elena rolled her eyes. "How did you even get in here?"

Damon nodded toward her big bay window. "It was unlocked," he told her, as if that explained everything.

Elena was becoming increasingly frustrated with his cryptic answers. "So let me get this straight," she sighed in exasperation. "You came here, in the middle of the night, and snuck in through my bedroom window to apologize for trying to kiss me earlier?"

"No," Damon replied.

Elena crossed her arms and stared at him in annoyance. "No?" she asked.

He smirked at her, moving to sit down on the bed. "No," he repeated. "I'm not going to apologize for trying to kiss you, because we both know I wouldn't mean it if I did. I came here to apologize for the _way_ it happened."

"You mean you're apologizing for being a presumptuous, arrogant asshole?" Elena asked, feigning shock that he would admit to such a thing.

Damon smirked. "You have fire; I like it," he said. "It's a shame you're wasting it all on a _boy_ who doesn't know what to do with it."

Elena glared at him. "You don't know anything about me," she hissed.

Damon shrugged. "I know enough," he countered. "I know that beneath that icy shell of yours is a fiery, passionate woman just looking for an excuse to break free. I could help you with that," he whispered, his eyes burning into hers; they were dark with lust and filled with promises of intense pleasure. She felt like she was drowning in those blue depths.

"One taste, Elena," he purred seductively, his lips hovering over hers. "Just one taste, and if you can honestly say you feel nothing for me, I'll never bother you again."

Elena shook her head. "Forget it," she whispered even as her breaths were becoming shallow pants at his nearness.

"You only say that because you're afraid you'll give in," he told her. He leaned in to whisper in her ear, his cheek grazing hers and sending a shock of awareness straight through her. "You're afraid that if I kiss you, you're not going to want me to stop. You're afraid that if we do this, you'll beg for me to touch you. You'll feel my lips on yours, my tongue doing things to you that you've never imagined possible, and you'll want more. You know that if that happens, you won't be able to lie to yourself; your innocent little romance with Stefan won't be enough for you anymore."

Elena fought the urge to close her eyes and give in to the seductive power of his voice, shaking her head in denial. "You're wrong," she said, trying to sound firm even though her heart was pounding in her chest so hard that she was certain he could hear it.

"Then prove it," he challenged her, moving closer to her on the bed and breathing softly against her neck. She shivered in response and he lifted his head to stare deeply into her eyes. "Your move, Elena," he told her seriously.

She was torn; Damon was offering her the chance to prove he didn't affect her, but she knew that if she kissed him the only thing she'd be proving would be how badly she wanted him. Unfortunately, if she refused it would only convince him further that he was right about her attraction to him, and he would likely continue his game of seduction until she gave in.

"Damon," she whispered pleadingly; though she wasn't sure if she wanted him to leave or to kiss her.

"You want this," he rasped; his lips were a mere breath away from hers. "For once in your life, _take what you want_."

She didn't know what possessed her to do it, but at his words all rational thoughts as to why she shouldn't kiss him suddenly went out the window. She closed her eyes, the electrical current sending shocks through her at the touch of his lips against hers. The second she touched him, she couldn't control herself. Her hands were in his hair, pulling him closer as her lips practically devoured his; she was ravenous for everything he had to offer her. She moaned softly into his mouth, parting her lips so that his tongue met hers in an erotic dance that set her skin on fire. She had been right in her assumptions that Damon would consume her with his passion; she didn't care. She frantically tore at his clothes, wanting to feel him against her. Without realizing how it happened, they were suddenly both completely naked, and he was leaving a hot trail of kisses down her neck. One of his hands cupped her woman's mound; his thumb rubbing circles over the soft flesh surrounding her sweetest spot. He teased the sensitive bud softly, stroking all around it until she was bucking her hips and trying to get him to move his fingers where she wanted them.

"What do you want, Elena?" Damon rasped, refusing to give in even as she wiggled her hips and writhed against him.

"Damon," she whined with need for him.

He smirked. "You already have me," he told her. "What. Do. You. _Want?_" His thumb pressed over her clit, eliciting a sharp cry from her throat.

"Please," she whimpered, arching her back and trying to rub herself against his hand. He pulled away from her and she let out a strangled little growl of frustration.

"Tell me, and I will," he promised her. His lips trailed over her neck again and he gently bit down on her earlobe, causing her to draw in a sharp breath. "Tell me," he whispered again. She could feel his swollen cock gently probing her entrance and moaned softly with longing for him to bury himself deep inside her. As she tried to press her hips forward, he drew back.

"Say it," he demanded, grasping his shaft and teasingly sliding the tip of his steel length between her folds.

It was as if something primal awakened within her and she gripped his wrist, her nails digging into his skin. "Fuck me, Damon," she growled; she held his wrist in a firm grasp, moving her hips so that he was lined up perfectly at her entrance.

Damon let go, pushing his hips forward and sinking deep inside her in one thrust; his hand moved up to stroke her with relentless determination in time with his movements deep inside her. Elena was already seeing stars; her vision clouding over with little black spots and swirls of shadows. She closed them, throwing her head back against the pillows as she thrashed violently beneath him in pursuit of her pleasure. Her nails were still digging into the flesh of his wrist, trying to pull his hand away from that spot; she was becoming increasingly more sensitive with every touch, but he refused to back down.

"Don't fight it," he breathed against her ear. "Feel what I do to you."

She was climbing higher, treading the line between pain and pleasure as his fingers teased her hot button. He angled his hips so that his massive length hit a spot deep inside her and sent more delicious shocks through her system.

"Damon!" she cried out, her voice a high-pitched shriek as the coil inside her snapped suddenly; she felt as if she was shattering into millions of tiny pieces, each one tingling with pleasure. It was at that exact moment, as she was about to crash over the edge again, that she felt his mouth insistently sucking on the pulse point at her neck. And then she felt it; two tiny pinpricks as his fangs sunk into her skin…

Elena gasped, her eyes shot open, and she immediately sat up in bed; she was drenched in sweat, her body still humming with her arousal. She glared at the pages of her story still scattered on the table, as if it was their fault she'd dreamed about Damon again. Well, technically she'd dreamed about Vampire Damon; not surprising since she'd made the real Damon an evil vampire in her story last night. Obviously her subconscious had decided to merge the images of her story with the events from last night into one overly confusing, erotic _nightmare_ starring His Royal Pain in the Ass. Yes, that was all it was, she assured herself.

Just as she was about to get out of bed, his annoyingly handsome head poked in through the doorway.

"Dreaming about me again?" he teased, grinning impishly at her.

Elena glared at him. "Didn't anybody tell you it's not polite to just barge into someone's bedroom uninvited?"

He leaned against the door frame lazily. "I'm not barging in," he replied smugly. "As you can plainly see, I am still _technically_ between the hallway and the bedroom. Besides, you were the one screaming my name just a few minutes ago."

"I was not!" Elena protested, even though she knew it was a lie.

Damon closed his eyes, beginning to breathe heavily and moan in a near perfect imitation of her in her dreams. "Oh, Damon," he cried. "Damon, don't stop! DAMON!" He opened his eyes again, grinning like the devil himself. "The acoustics in this house are amazing," he told her. "You'd be surprised what you can hear if you just _listen_."

Elena threw a pillow at him; he caught it just like all the other times she'd thrown things at him, and she growled in frustration. "Can't you just leave me alone?" she asked pleadingly.

Damon smirked. "Now why would I do that when teasing you is so much fun?" he asked as he made his way over to the bed. Before she could yell at him to get out, he set the pillow down next to hers and flopped down onto the bed beside her.

"This isn't the firmest mattress," he observed casually. "Are you sure you don't want to try mine instead?"

"Not even in your wildest dreams," she replied coldly.

Damon grinned. "You might be right about that, since we never actually seem to make it to the bedroom in any of them."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Is this going to be a habit of yours?" she snapped irritably.

"Well, I do enjoy those dreams," he grinned lasciviously at her. "You're…_insatiable_."

"Okay, that's it," Elena said, getting out of bed and quickly slipping on her bath robe to cover her boxers and camisole from Damon's leering gaze. "Get out."

Damon frowned. "Why? We were having so much fun, and I was just getting comfortable," he pouted, refusing to move.

"Fine," Elena sighed in exasperation. "_I'm_ going to have a shower." She noticed the smirk on his face and glared at him. "And that _wasn't_ an invitation!"

Damon watched the door to the bathroom slam shut and laughed softly in amusement. She was definitely feisty; one of the qualities he liked best in her, aside from her stunning beauty. He did sort of regret teasing her so much, only because it often resulted in her storming off and ending the game; and he liked the game. He liked seeing her blush, especially when she wasn't aware she was doing it; like when he'd asked her if she'd dreamed about him and she'd tried to lie to him. Her crimson cheeks gave her away instantly; now he was curious as to what exactly her dream had been about. Considering the loud screams often coming from her room each morning he had a feeling they were quite _agreeable_, and best of all he appeared to star in all of them. As he was pondering this latest bit of information, he spotted a bunch of scattered pieces of paper on the writing table across from the foot of the bed. Curiously, he got off the bed to inspect them and recognized the beautiful penmanship that could only be Elena's. The name "Damien" stared up at him and he smirked; clearly she had been writing about him, and from the change of names it was obvious she was trying to hide it. Just as he was about to read the first page, he heard the water turn off in the bathroom indicating that Elena's shower was over. Deciding against pissing her off any further for the time being, he left the bedroom so she could have her privacy. He would just have to wait until she was out of the house to read what, undoubtedly, was a very intriguing story.

**Author's Note:** I sprained my wrist last night while lifting the mattress so we could put the fresh sheets on the bed (it was laundry day). Consequently I am without full use of my left hand and it's seriously thrown a monkey-wrench into my writing plans. It's just a very good thing that earlier that same day I finished most of this chapter and Chapter 8, so all I really needed to do was toss in a few more lines of dialogue and exposition and then do some proof-reading before I posted it. So you'll all be getting two chapters this week instead of one. I'll probably post the second half later tonight, but not until after I give my wrist a nice long rest and enjoy the praise that is sure to follow from this chapter. After all, I gave you a lemon again; that's worth reviewing for, isn't it? ;)

Now on to the second matter I'd like to address…**if you've been trying to add me as a friend on facebook and have not yet gotten a confirmation, please try again with the tag line stating that you know me from FF**. I have not been responding to requests without comments b/c lately a lot of people have been adding me who have never even read my stories (some of which who are in middle school). I'm not in the habit of corrupting young innocent minds and it's not always easy to tell how old someone is since they could put up any profile pic they want. So please, if you want to be my friend and get updates about my stuff, then mention my stories in your request. Then I'll add you as a friend and you can chat with me anytime you like! My LiveJournal is also quite entertaining, and I've recently figured it all out so it's become my new favorite place to post my thoughts. I think that's all for now. My wrist is killing me…

Be Good and Review!


	9. Chapter 8: Parallels

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, however consider this story mine. Any dialogues not canon from the show as well as any descriptive sentences are the end result of over twenty years of writing. I have poured my heart and soul into every beautiful paragraph, every perfect sentence, every hot and/or romantic scene, and every funny one-liner. To copy this work or any other and claim as one's own, in whole or in part is a criminal offence punishable by ostracism, harassment by my loyal readers, and possibly even dismissal by the MODs. It's not worth it; don't be a thief :)

Chapter 8: Parallels

Elena nervously sipped her cup of coffee and stared longingly over at the bar; she really needed a drink at the moment, but knew it would only make things worse. Isobel's message yesterday had been terse and hinted at something that Elena would find unpleasant. She almost considered leaving The Mystic Grill and pretending she had forgotten about the meeting, but before she could seriously consider it she heard the foreboding sound of clicking heels. Dressed in a classic black dress, sheer black long-sleeved shirt and black nylons, Elena's birth mother was the very image of sophistication as she hung her bag and jacket on one of the empty chairs.

"Hello, Elena," Isobel said pleasantly as she took her seat, placing her hands elegantly on the table top. Elena forced herself to smile, wanting to get this meeting over with.

"Isobel," she acknowledged without a hint of warmth.

Isobel frowned slightly. "Such civility," she commented. "Is that any way to greet your mother?"

"My mother's resting peacefully next to my father in the cemetery," she replied coldly. "You just happened to be the one who gave birth to me."

Isobel sighed, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Is this how it's going to be every time we have our weekly chat?" she asked, slightly irritated.

Elena shrugged indifferently. "We could always stop them, if you don't like my attitude," she suggested.

Isobel pursed her lips together in a thin line. "You know, for someone who claims to be an adult capable of making her own decisions, you're certainly acting like a spoiled child."

"Must be genetic," Elena quipped. "Why do you insist on these lunches if I'm _such_ a disappointment?"

Isobel smiled sweetly. "I'm your mother, Elena. I want to be more involved in your life," she replied. "Speaking of which…" she reached into her black satchel, pulling out a file folder and placing it on the table. As she opened it, Elena realized she had a copy of Elena's latest assignments.

"Where did you get those?" Elena demanded, feeling her face growing hot with anger that Isobel could so easily invade her privacy like that.

"Vanessa," Isobel answered her in a tone as casual as if she were discussing the weather.

Elena sighed, feeling a sense of betrayal. "Of course," she muttered. "I should have known you'd have your lackeys keep tabs on me."

Isobel shrugged. "It's not like _you_ would tell me anything," she said, unconcerned. "So I simply asked some of my contacts at the school to keep an eye on things for me."

"It's an invasion of my privacy!" Elena shouted.

"Keep your voice down, Elena," Isobel scolded her. "We wouldn't want to cause a scene."

Elena glared at her, but refused to get into an argument with the woman. Isobel was a cold, calculating, manipulative bitch; Elena should have known she'd exploit her various connections to retain some level of control over her.

Isobel smiled sweetly again. "That's better," she said. "Now, about your grades…"

"I don't want to talk about it," Elena cut her off.

Isobel narrowed her eyes at her. "Well I didn't want to have to hear from a colleague that my daughter was failing all her classes, so I guess we're both not going to get what we want today."

Elena stared stonily at the wall behind Isobel. The older woman sighed, looking at her with a serious expression. "I think you should come home," she said.

"What?" Elena gasped; her eyes wide with horror at the thought.

"It's obvious what's going on here, Elena," she said. "Stefan's a distraction you can't afford. You need to focus on your future."

"Stefan _is_ my future," Elena snapped.

"Of course," Isobel said sarcastically. "I forgot you're in some great epic romance and are going to live happily ever after."

"Why is it so hard for you to accept that I'm happy with Stefan?" Elena asked.

"Because you're throwing your life away for something that isn't going to last," Isobel replied. "You're twenty-two years old! How can you possibly know what you'll want ten years from now? Stefan is weak and foolish, and he's only going to drag you down with him. I'm just trying to prepare you…"

"Prepare me for what?" Elena cut her off again, ignoring the cutting remark about her boyfriend. "For an illegitimate child, an ex husband, and a big empty house with no one to share it with? Sorry, I've seen that future; I want no part of it."

Isobel glared at her. "I never said I was perfect, Elena," she said emotionlessly. "I've made my share of mistakes, but choosing to live my life for myself was _never_ one of them."

"You're alone and miserable," Elena pointed out. "You gave up the chance to have a family, _twice_, and you tell me it wasn't a mistake because you're not _obligated _to anyone else? I don't want that for myself! I would _never_ want that."

"I'm not telling you not to have a family, Elena," Isobel said tiredly. "I'm just asking you to focus on building a life for _yourself_ first, before you tie yourself down."

"Is that why you left Ric?" Elena asked, knowing that she was pouring salt into a deep wound. "Was he _tying_ _you down_?"

Isobel's dark eyes blazed with anger. "How dare you bring him into this," she hissed.

Elena didn't care if she was upsetting Isobel at the moment; she'd crossed a line trying to interfere with her life, after all. "You know, he told Jenna the other day just how much happier he is with her. They're getting married in May; did you get the invitation yet?"

"That's enough," Isobel said warningly.

"Tell me, Isobel," Elena added bitingly. "Was living your life for yourself really worth losing the man you love?"

Elena knew she'd struck a nerve; to all casual observers Isobel would have appeared to be just as calm and collected as always, but the slight twitch of her mouth indicated she was seething. She gathered her bag and coat from the seat before gracefully rising to her feet.

"Well, if you're not willing to discuss your situation like a reasonable adult then I suppose I'll just have to have a word with your father regarding your trust fund," she said in a business-like tone.

Elena shrugged indifferently. "You do that," she said coldly.

Isobel pursed her lips, frowning with disappointment. "I'll see you next week, Elena," she said. "Hopefully you'll have had time to reconsider my offer."

Without another glance at her daughter, Isobel left a ten dollar bill on the table. "That should cover the coffee," she said before walking out of the restaurant. Elena resisted the urge to bury her head in her hands and stood up, gathering her things as well. She left the money on the table, deciding Vicki or Matt could keep the change. Right now she just wanted to get out of here, go home, and perhaps sneak a drink or two from Damon's liquor cabinet. After dealing with Isobel, she certainly earned a five-minute reprieve from her good girl image.

When she walked into the living room twenty minutes later, Elena was in a state of shock; Damon was sprawled across the sofa, and he had some very familiar pieces of paper in his hands.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, arms crossed across her chest as she gave him a disapproving glare.

"Reading," he said nonchalantly. He didn't look up at her, but continued poring over the pages full of her scrawled writing. "Wow, I come off as a real dick in this story," he commented.

She moved forward, snatching the pages from him.

"Hey, I wasn't finished," he whined. She ignored his protests, quickly filing the papers back into her binder that she'd left on the coffee table earlier.

"I didn't give you permission to read my work," she said, furious that he would invade her privacy like that. Those pages were just as personal as her diary, as far as she was concerned; how _dare_ he?

"_You're_ the one who left them out," he pointed out. "I was simply curious."

"I didn't leave them out," Elena countered. "They were on the table in Stefan's room!"

Damon shrugged. "So? They were still left out where anyone could see them. Besides, better I see them than Stefan," he said smugly.

Elena narrowed her eyes. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Just that your story is quite _revealing_," he said, grinning impishly at her. "I have to say, I was surprised that you made Stefan such a _wimpy_ vampire, considering he's 'the love of your life'," he air-quoted the words she'd used in her story, smirking at her in amusement.

"What makes you think my story has anything to do with you and Stefan? I never mentioned your names once," she said defensively. She was already embarrassed enough that he'd read her work; the last thing she needed was for him to realize she found him to be incredibly seductive, if not a bit dangerous.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Ok, they're completely fictional, no parallels being drawn, I get it." His words were heavily coated in sarcasm, but she refused to give any indication that he had cracked her code. "Anyway, _Sebastian_ is a wuss. I don't understand why _Helena_ doesn't just go for _Damien_; he's _way_ more fun."

"Because _Sebastian _actually cares about _Helena_; _Damien _is just an ass who's trying to mess with her head and try to seduce her for his own amusement," Elena replied tersely.

Damon frowned and shook his head. "No, I don't think that's it at all," he said thoughtfully. "I think he genuinely likes Helena, but she's just too busy convincing herself she's meant to be with Sebastian to see it."

Elena cocked her head to the side, crossing her arms in front of her. "Oh really?" she said. "You think you have some great insight into their relationship?"

He nodded, looking at her seriously. "Yes, I do," he said confidently. "See, I think that not only does Damien desire Helena_,_ but she secretly wants him too; she just doesn't want to admit it because then her perfect little fantasy life with Sebastian will come crashing down around her, and she's not sure she's ready for something so _real_ and _passionate_ with Damien."

"I think you're reading a little too much into this story," she said, dismissing his comment as if it proved nothing. "Damienis the bad guy. He's the one coming between Sebastian and Helena, after all."

"Well of course you're going to say that, you're the author," he pointed out. "But see, as a reader, I can look at this whole thing more objectively, and from the way you write Damien and Helena's scenes together, it's obvious there's a lot of sexual tension just waiting to be explored. I'm surprised she didn't jump him right there in the parking lot, though that slap was still pretty telling." His eyes glittered with amusement as he looked up at her. "Tell me, how did you _ever_ come up with that scene?"

She knew he was referring to last night's incident in the kitchen, but she'd be damned if she'd admit that was how she came up with the part where Damien tried to compel Helena to kiss him and she slapped him, having unknowingly been wearing a special necklace given to her by Sebastian that was meant to protect her from Damien's influence.

When he didn't get an answer, Damon decided to move on to another scene that had amused him. It had been the part where Damien and Helena first meet, and she had described him as incredibly handsome and seductive; he happened to like that scene a lot, and wished Elena hadn't snatched the story away from him so quickly. He'd been really looking forward to reading more about their two alter egos; she wasn't fooling anyone by changing their names.

"I think she's attracted to Damien and only slapped him because she was going to give in. You set it up so perfectly at their first meeting," he smirked. "So much sexual tension…"

Elena glared at him. "Maybe on _Damien's_ side, since he's obsessed with her, but Helena feels nothing for him," she said firmly. "She's in love with Sebastian, after all."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Please," he said. "Their whole love story is just a big ball of melodramatic teenage angst. There's not even any heat or passion at all between them."

"There's passion," Elena argued defensively.

Damon shook his head. "Nope, not buying it," he told her. "From the second Helena started going on and on about Sebastian, I could tell it wasn't real. She doesn't ache for him the way she obviously does for Damien. Why else would she dream about _him_ instead of her boyfriend?"

Elena felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment and looked away from him, staring at the wall to avoid his perceptive eyes. She refused to say anything more about the dream sequence; she didn't want to accidentally give him any more power over her than he already had.

"So what happens next?" he asked.

"Huh?" Elena responded, slightly startled from her train of thought; she was remembering parts of her dream, when he'd seduced her after sneaking into her room while she was sleeping.

"In the story," Damon reminded her. "What happens next, after she slaps him? You didn't let me finish."

"Oh, that," Elena said, flushing slightly. "I don't know," she admitted. "I haven't finished it yet."

"But you will?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

She eyed him suspiciously. "I guess," she said. "Why do you ask?"

"Because it's really good, and I'm curious to know what happens in this love triangle between Sebastian, Helena, and Damien. It sounds interesting."

"It's not a love triangle," Elena protested. Helena's in love with Sebastian, end of story.

Damon shook his head, smirking slightly. "I don't think so," he said. "I'll bet you anything she goes for Damien in the end; _Helena_ has way too much fire in her to be wasted on _Sebastian_. There's just no chemistry between them; it's puppy love, and it won't last."

Elena narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't be so sure," she told him.

Damon looked into her eyes; they were full of pity, sadness and another unreadable emotion. "Then _Helena_ will only be lying to herself," Damon said seriously. "And she'll likely regret it for the rest of her life if she doesn't even give _Damien_ the chance to prove he can love her far better than _Sebastian_ is capable of."

She stared at him, at a sudden loss for words. She had a feeling he wasn't talking about the story anymore, and she cleared her throat, ready to switch to a less dangerous topic.

"So you really liked my story?" she asked, sitting on the chair next to the sofa and turning to face him fully. She'd never had anyone actually read her creative pieces before, so she was genuinely curious as to what he thought.

Damon nodded his head. "Yeah, from what I got to read, it was really good; and I'm not just saying that either. Is this the assignment you've been working on for one of your classes?" he asked.

"No," she frowned, shaking her head. "My classes don't really focus on creative writing. This was just something I wrote for fun; it's a hobby of mine."

He furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why aren't you taking creative writing classes instead?" he asked. "You obviously enjoy it; why not turn it into a career or something?"

She sighed. "My parents decided I should study something a little more serious, so I'm taking business writing classes instead."

He frowned. "Forgive me for saying so, but you really don't strike me as the clerical type."

"I'm not," Elena admitted. "Actually, I'm pretty much one bad paper away from failing the entire program."

"I don't get it," he said, confused. "Why would you keep studying something that obviously makes you unhappy? Why not just quit?"

Elena's eyes widened in shock at his words. "I can't just _quit_," she said seriously.

Damon shrugged. "Sure you can," he said simply. "Life's too short to spend it doing things that make you miserable; you should do things you love instead, like write something you actually _want _to."

"My mother would never allow it," Elena said sadly.

"So what, she'll cut you off?" Damon asked, rolling his eyes slightly. "Please, my father tried that trick with me years ago, but I just had no interest in spending every waking moment of my life either in med school or at the hospital; it just wasn't my thing. But I left home anyway, and found my own path, and I'm happier for it. I have a bunch of night clubs in different cities, and I've got my little side business entertaining the ladies," he winked.

"You mean you're a _stripper_," Elena said pointedly, giving him a disapproving look.

"Hey, I was blessed with this sex-god physique; might as well make the most of it," he justified, grinning cockily. "Besides, until you see me in action, you're not allowed to judge me."

He rose from the sofa, strutting past her with a deliberate gyration of his hips. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready. There's a certain politician's wife who's waiting for me to show up and wish her a very happy birthday, but don't tell anyone because it's a secret," he winked, placing a finger to his lips as if telling her to be quiet; as if she cared. But as she watched him leave the room she couldn't help but wonder just what sort of performance he was giving tonight. She growled in frustration; she really needed to stop thinking of him like that. He was off-limits!

Her phone began buzzing in her jeans pocket and she pulled it out, rolling her eyes when she saw the text from Stefan.

Working another double shift tonight. Will see you tomorrow before the party. Love U.

Elena sighed, knowing that tonight would be another night spent alone; Damon wouldn't even be around to keep her company. It was strange, but in a way she felt better when he was around. Sure, he was constantly making inappropriate comments, but she wasn't as lonely as she used to be before his arrival. She'd almost begun to think of him as a friend of sorts; albeit a highly annoying, cocky friend, but a friend nonetheless. She would miss him tonight while he was out _entertaining_; without him around there really wasn't a whole lot she could do to take her mind off things. She turned her head, noticing the binder still on the coffee table and sighed, pulling out the loose-leaf paper and a pen. Damon's words of encouragement echoed in her head, and she smiled softly thinking of how he'd genuinely seemed interested in reading her work. Stefan had never once shown any interest, and it felt good to have someone praise her for her hidden talent; even if that someone happened to be Damon. So with her mind made up, Elena began to work on another chapter of her story; after all, it wasn't like she had anything else to do tonight.

**Author's Note:** Okay, before I get a bunch of messages from my concerned friends, let me just say that I've rediscovered my talent for typing one-handed. I'm actually amazed since I haven't done it since I was seventeen (at which point I decided to teach myself how to type properly). Anyway, the wrist is wrapped in a tensor bandage and on ice. Thank you to all who sent me best wishes for a quick recovery. I will do my best, but I think I might give my other hand a break soon so I don't hurt it too. That's the trouble with having injured my wrists several times over the past five years; they never really healed completely. I really should just stop putting so much weight on them, but then how am I supposed to lift anything? Oh well, I just have to be more careful that I don't bend them back so much when I move.

Okay, I'm off to bed now. If you wanna chat, you all know where to find me ;)

Be Good and Review

**P.S**

**I haven't forgotten about this story, I've just been suffering Writer's Block for the next chapter. In the meantime, I have a way to make it up to those of you who don't mind being a little spoiled ;)  
**

**As most of you know I have a LiveJournal account** (drkprncss17). Recently I have added **Special Spoilers** accessible to those who wish to read sneak peeks of my stories. As mentioned earlier in my notes, I've been writing bits and pieces of scenes ahead of time and creating the chapters later. So, if you're REALLY itching to read something new, you can add me as a friend and reply to my Who Wants to Be Spoiled? thread requesting I add your name to my list. **This is the ONLY place where I will post these scenes ahead of time**, so if you want 'em, you'll need an account. At the moment, there are two scenes for Living With Sin, the second being a tender Delena moment just in time for Valentine's Day :)


	10. Chapter 9: Five Minutes

Disclaimer and Warning: I do not own Vampire Diaries, however consider this story mine. Any dialogues not canon from the show as well as any descriptive sentences are the end result of over twenty years of writing. I have poured my heart and soul into every beautiful paragraph, every perfect sentence, every hot and/or romantic scene, and every funny one-liner. To copy this work or any other and claim as one's own, in whole or in part is a criminal offence punishable by ostracism, harassment by my loyal readers, and possibly even dismissal by the MODs. **Repeat offenders will be reported IMMEDIATELY to Stop_Plagiarism on LiveJournal and your name will be placed on the watch list under all known aliases.** It's not worth it; don't be a thief !

Chapter 9: Take a Break From Your Life For Five Minutes

_Dear Diary,_

_Today is Caroline's party at the Mystic Grill. She's been planning it for months now, and Stefan promised he would come with me…well, he cancelled. Again. Story of my life, right? He called me less than an hour ago with another lame apology about how he's sorry he can't make it, but the hospital really needs him. Yeah, whatever. Honestly I'm getting a little fed up with this disappearing act of his, and all his excuses. Is it really so much to ask that my boyfriend spend more time with me? I don't want to be one of those clingy girlfriends, but I don't want to feel so alone all the time. I mean, DAMON is more of a boyfriend to me right now than Stefan is…if my boyfriend was the type to hang around constantly, make suggestive comments, and parade around the house half-naked every chance he got. Honestly, he might as well be my boyfriend since either way I'm not really getting any payoffs here. Stefan and I haven't made love in over a month and a half; I did the math. I was counting on ending that dry spell tonight, but Stefan ruined those plans by deciding to bail on the party, even after he promised me last night he would be home. So now I'm dateless, depressed, and not exactly in the mood to celebrate anything (sorry, Caroline)._

Elena was curled up in her favorite chair by the fireplace, dressed in yet another pair of blue PJ bottoms and a matching camisole as she scribbled yet another entry in her diary. It seemed she was doing that a lot lately. Once again, Stefan had broken a date with her in favor of working late at the hospital, leaving her alone in the boarding house. The only problem was that he had _promised _to take her to Caroline's birthday party at The Mystic Grill, and now she was dateless and no longer in the mood to celebrate. Plus she wouldn't be able to drink unless she took a cab, and since Isobel had effectively cut her off from her trust fund earlier yesterday after their argument, she really didn't have the money to pay for one. Just then, she heard footsteps approaching from behind and knew it could only be one person; she pretended to be deep in thought, hoping he'd go away.

"You're still here?" he asked, as if he was surprised to find her sitting in the living room.

"Where else would I be?" she responded without looking up from her journal.

"I assumed you'd be at the Mystic Grill by now. Unless you wanted to ride with me…" he wiggled his brows suggestively, grinning at her. She chose to ignore his comments; she wasn't really in any mood to deal with him.

"I'm not going," she replied. "I've got a headache."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Like I buy that excuse for a second," he muttered.

"Believe what you want," she said. "I don't feel like arguing with you tonight, and I'm just not up to dealing with a crowd and loud music."

"You're not seriously going to bail on your best friend's party!" Damon scoffed.

Elena shrugged. "Why not?" She asked. "My date cancelled."

"So what?" Damon moved to sit on the sofa next to her, casually placing her legs across his lap. "I'd think by now you'd be used to it." He had a smug expression on his face, as if he was saying "I told you so." She _hated_ that look; almost as much as she hated the fact that he was right. Not that she'd ever admit it, of course.

"Is there a point to this conversation, or do you just enjoy pointing out everything that's wrong with my relationship?" She asked, arching her brow at him in annoyance.

Damon smirked, knowing he'd struck a nerve. "I thought you told me you were 'perfectly happy' with my little brother," he air-quoted the 'perfectly happy', causing her to toss a throw pillow at him.

"I am," she insisted.

"Liar," he taunted. "We both know that you're hardly satisfied these days, if you ever were to begin with!"

Elena sighed in exasperation. "Look, things are just complicated right now because he's working so much."

"You're sure that's all it is?" He asked, arching his brow.

Elena frowned slightly. "What are you implying? That he's hiding something from me?"

"Well you have to admit, he spends a suspicious amount of time at the hospital. Nobody is _that_ devoted to their work." Damon stretched out and casually threw his arm over the back of the couch, just behind her head. For a second she thought he would try to put his arm around her, but thankfully he didn't move any closer to her.

"I trust him," she said simply, hoping that would be the end of this discussion. Unfortunately Damon wasn't ready to give up just yet.

"Do you?" He turned to face her, eyeing her seriously; it was as if he was trying to compel her to tell the truth with those sinfully sexy eyes of his. She hadn't noticed before, but they had flecks of green and silver, blended in perfectly with the icy blue. For a moment her breath caught in her throat, and she really had the urge to tell him the truth; that she wasn't happy at all. But then she thought of Stefan, and how sweet he had been to her. God, she was just being selfish, and it was all because Damon was getting to her. She had to remind herself that he was deliberately undermining her relationship with his brother, and that it was all a game for him. Probably some stupid way to get back at Stefan for that thing with Katherine; whatever that had been. She had her suspicions that Damon wasn't really as innocent as he claimed to be. For all she knew, he could have stolen Katherine away from Stefan using the same tactics he was trying to use on _her_.

Elena rolled her eyes. Why was it so difficult for him to just leave her relationship with his brother alone? "Yes," she replied, glaring at him in annoyance. "He's given me no reason not to."

"You're right!" He said mockingly. "Cancelling plans at the last minute, working late every night for the past month and a half and hardly ever coming home to sleep are all perfectly trustworthy behaviors!"

"You don't know what you're talking about," she snapped, crossing her arms across her chest defensively. She jumped as he softly brushed his fingertips over the back of her neck; his hand moved to cup the side of her face in a comforting gesture.

"I know this much," he told her, barely above a whisper. "If I had a girlfriend like you waiting at home for me every night, I wouldn't be spending every waking moment _working_. My brother is a fool to leave you alone so much, but that's no reason for you to spend all your time sulking." If she hadn't noticed the almost caring look in his eyes as he said it, she would have thought he was trying to seduce her again; but even as she continued to stare at him, waiting for any signs that he was about to move in and try to kiss her, his hand did not move from her cheek. He didn't even brush a fingertip over her neck or trace her jawbone as he slowly pulled his hand back to rest on the back of the couch again.

"You should get out," he suggested with a playful smile. "Have some fun."

Elena frowned slightly, unsure of how to respond to him. Damon always seemed to have this way of doing the exact opposite of what she expected, and now was a perfect example of it. She'd assumed his allusion to Stefan not deserving her had been yet another tactic in his game of seduction; she hadn't at all expected him to treat her like a friend. She hadn't really thought him capable of actually caring about her feelings without taking advantage of the situation, and the fact that he _wasn't_ made her even _more_ nervous around him. She could handle Cocky Damon, and Womanizer Damon, but Caring Damon was another problem entirely; she could easily see herself falling for him if she wasn't careful.

"I don't know…" she replied hesitantly. While part of her was screaming to let loose and become Fun Elena for one night, there was still the whole issue of Damon being the one she'd be having that fun with; it was a recipe for disaster the more she considered it. Unfortunately Damon wasn't about to take "no" for an answer.

"Sure you do!" he said cajolingly. "Come on, Pouty, live a little! Just take a break from your life for five minutes."

God, she was tempted. The playful smile and the way he kept batting his eyes at her (in what she had now secretly referred to as the "eye thing") were disarming; it was all the more reason why it would be a bad idea.

Am I going to be safe with you?" she asked pointedly.

"Yes," Damon assured her.

"And you promise to stop doing that eye thing with me?"

"What eye thing?" he asked, deliberately giving her one of his smoldering looks complete with the playfully sexy smile.

"Don't make me regret being your friend," she warned him.

"Yes, Elena," he sighed dramatically, placing his hand on his chest. "I solemnly swear not to take advantage of you in your vulnerable state. Happy?"

When she failed to respond right away, Damon rolled his eye. "I'm not leaving without you," he said firmly. "So you march your sexy little ass upstairs and get dressed before I call Caroline and tell her you're planning to skip out on her birthday party!"

Elena crossed her arms, stubbornly refusing to move. "Go ahead," she challenged him. She knew Caroline would eventually get over it, even if it took a few weeks of the silent treatment.

"Or…" Damon added as an afterthought. "I could just hang around here all night and keep you company. At least if we're at the party I won't be bored out of my mind, and YOU might actually get a few hours to yourself. I can't exactly promise that will happen if we stay home though, since I get bored easily and I can be quite _annoying_ when I want to be."

The implied threat wasn't lost on Elena; she knew for a fact that Damon would do everything in his power to irritate her, just to prove a point.

With an exaggerated sigh, she stood up and stomped her way toward the stairs.

"Changed your mind already?" he smirked at her.

"Ass," she muttered under her breath.

"I've been told I have a very nice one!" he called back to her.

Elena rolled her eyes, choosing to just ignore his comments and head upstairs to take a shower. But as soon as the hot water sprayed over her, her thoughts once again drifted to the man downstairs. It was crazy how often she'd thought about him since he'd walked into the boarding house that first day. She knew he was partly to blame, with all those suggestive comments and that annoyingly sexy eye thing, but at the same time it was her fault for allowing him to get to her in the first place; because he shouldn't be able to have such power over her, she reasoned with herself. She already had a boyfriend; it should have been easy to ignore Damon. But then there was that part of her that wanted him; that part of her she'd tried to bury a long time ago. She couldn't deny that the old Elena would not have chosen Stefan over Damon. Caroline would probably have gone so far as to remind her that the old Elena would have been perfect for Damon, and probably would have come up with some scheme to get them together. But the old Elena had been wild and reckless, and she'd been the reason that Grayson and Miranda Gilbert had died. If the old Elena hadn't insisted on going to that college party and needed a ride home, they would still be alive. And it was because of that fact that the old Elena didn't exist anymore. No, it would be far too dangerous for her to give in to Damon and regress back to that person.

She realized she'd been in the shower far too long when the water suddenly switched from hot to cold. She yelped in surprise as it flipped back to hot, and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Damon!" She shouted loud enough for him to hear her downstairs. She knew that Stefan's bathroom and the downstairs guest room below were connected by the same pipeline, and knew instantly that Damon had been behind the temperature change. She wasn't sure _how_ she knew that; she just _knew._

Sure enough, only a few minutes passed before Damon's voice could be heard through the bathroom door. "Just making sure you didn't slip and fall in there," he said, feigning concern.

"Well clearly I didn't!" she snapped back at him.

"Like I said, just making sure," Damon called out to her. "Unless you'd prefer me to just see for myself; because I could very easily have picked the lock on this door…"

"And I could just as easily kill you for trying," she replied sweetly.

"You wound me, Elena." Damon sighed dramatically, and she could almost picture his fake pout and the hand across his heart.

"You'll get over it." She rolled her eyes, when the doorknob began to jiggle. "What the hell do you want?" she cried in exasperation.

"Well there's a loaded question," Damon purred just loud enough that she could still hear him clearly over the running water.

"Can't you just let me shower in peace?" she cried in frustration.

"Your _shower_ should have been finished ten minutes ago," he informed her. "Now you're just stalling."

"I am not!" she denied.

"Then you're enjoying some quality time with the detachable shower head. And while that would be a huge turn on for me to know I get you _that_ flustered, we _are_ still in a bit of a hurry tonight."

For a split second Elena almost wished Damon _had_ picked the lock; that way she could have thrown the shampoo bottle at him. After a few moments of stony silence, Damon tapped on the door again.

"So are you getting out, or getting off?" he asked her in a casual tone.

Elena sighed and quickly shut off the water. When she swung the bathroom door open, wrapped in her fluffy blue bathrobe and her hair still dripping wet down her back, she didn't even bother to conceal her anger.

"Why are you still here?" she demanded. Her dresser and side of the closet were both wide open, and various articles of clothing (mainly her skimpiest party outfits and some lingerie) had been strewn across her bed. She couldn't help but notice that everything was either black or red.

"Since you decided to take your sweet time in the shower, I figured I'd help you pick out an outfit. That way, you can't stall further by claiming you have _nothing _to wear, and we won't be later than we already are." Damon looked completely unapologetic as he held up a black lace bustier; the one Caroline had talked her into getting the last time they'd gone shopping at Victoria's Secret.

"How about this?" he asked, turning it so that if she'd been standing directly in front of him it would have been a perfect fit. "Yeah, I can definitely see you in this."

She quickly snatched it out of his hands in annoyance. "That's not an outfit; it's underwear."

"With the tag still on it, too," Damon observed casually. "Makes me wonder what other goodies you've stashed away that my little brother could never truly appreciate."

She didn't want to admit it, but his words stung. The truth was that she had tried several times to entice Stefan with her lingerie purchases, and his reaction to them had always been anti-climactic; in more ways than one, too.

"Stefan just prefers _real _women to pinup Playboy models. I don't need to dress up for him."

"Men are _visual_," Damon said seriously. "So unless Stefan is actually hiding in the closet…"

"He's _not_!" Elena snapped. "He just doesn't need me to dress like a _whore_ to be attracted to me."

"You really have a high opinion of me." Damon's tone was unmistakably sarcastic.

"Well, you're the womanizing stripper who will sleep with anything in a skirt, so can you really blame me?"

Damon pretended to look scandalized at her words. "When you say it like that it just sounds so _dirty_."

"Because it _is_," she insisted. "I mean, if there was an actual reason for it, like you desperately needed the money to survive, I could understand it. But you're_ loaded_, by your own admission. Why would you do that if you really didn't have to?"

"Because I like being the center of attention and it's an easy way to meet women," he replied, as if the answer was obvious to everyone in the world but her. "What's the big deal?"

Elena wasn't completely naïve when it came to the darker aspects of the world; she knew that very few people actually grew up wanting to sell their bodies or work in strip clubs. She understood desperation, and she understood the need to survive. Plenty of young mothers did it just to keep food on the table for their children, and she could never fault them for it; because sometimes the choices people had to make weren't easy or desirable ones. What she _couldn't_ understand, was why anyone would willingly exploit themselves when they didn't even need to make those choices. She assumed it had to do with Damon's complete disregard for convention, and possibly his need to keep women at a distance emotionally. In fact, she was almost certain that the reason Damon acted the way he did was because he just didn't want to deal with his feelings at all, and this was his way of turning them off. She could relate, since she'd done the same thing as a teenager; the only difference was that _she_ had grown up.

"So it doesn't bother you at all, getting completely naked in front of a bunch of women you barely know?"

Damon smirked in amusement at her question. "I get naked with women I barely know on a regular basis in much more private settings," he reminded her. "Besides, what I do is more _burlesque_ than full-frontal nudity. It's no different than me walking around the house in my underwear…except maybe the part where I take off my clothes _in front of you._ But if you like, I can fix that." He moved his hands to the front of his jeans, teasingly circling the button with his thumb as he winked at her.

Elena closed her eyes and put up her hand in protest, even though that nagging part of her kept taunting that she really wanted to see what he had to offer. "Don't even try it," she said a little too quickly. She couldn't resist squinting out of the corner of her eye, and was relieved to see that Damon hadn't even unbuttoned his jeans.

"Maybe some other time then," Damon suggested, smirking knowingly at her.

Elena crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head to the side, eyeing him curiously. "So it really doesn't bother you?"

"Which part? Me taking my clothes off for money, or watching you ogle me all the time without even tossing me a dollar?"

Elena rolled her eyes at his comment and he gave her another cheeky grin before answering her question. "Well, put it this way," he said. "Have you ever gone skinny dipping with a group of your friends? Or done a sexy little strip tease during a game of Truth or Dare?"

"Why do you ask?"

Elena was a little surprised that he would ask her that. She silently prayed that it was mere speculation on his part; though Caroline did have a tendency to accidentally let things slip during a conversation. Before she'd known just who Isobel was, she'd told her way more information than Elena had ever wanted her birth mother to know; like her relationship with Stefan. Truthfully, it hadn't really been her fault. Isobel had simply introduced herself as Elena's mother, and Caroline being the way she was had simply assumed that Elena would have already told Isobel about Stefan. She couldn't have known that the woman was a cold and calculating bitch who liked to meddle in her affairs; it wasn't like Elena often discussed every little detail of her life, since that was what her diary was for.

Damon arched his brow at her. "Why are you avoiding the question?"

"I'm not," she said defensively.

"Then tell me." Damon tilted his head to the side, as if waiting for her answer.

"I was a different person back then," Elena sighed, knowing that it would probably have been pointless to lie to him.

"So Caroline tells me."

"And just what _has_ she been telling you?" Elena asked, feeling more than a little annoyed that her best friend had been telling Damon all her secrets. It was none of his business, after all.

Damon shrugged. "Just that you used to be a lot wilder than you are now," he said. "And that sometimes even _she_ couldn't keep up with you." He turned his attention back to the clothes on the bed; searching through various garments as if the conversation they were currently having had about as little impact as if they'd been discussing the weather. "You should wear this mini skirt," he suggested, changing the subject back to her wardrobe.

"That's a tube top," she corrected him. "And it barely fits anymore."

"Even better!" Damon grinned lasciviously at her.

"Can't you think of anything better to do, other than annoy me?" she sighed.

"I can think of several things," Damon purred. "Do you want to hear about them?"

"Forget I asked," she muttered under her breath.

Damon sat down on the edge of the bed, contemplating her for a second. "You know, Elena, I really don't understand what your problem is. Most women enjoy my company."

"Well those women are probably desperate."

"You're telling me you wouldn't jump my bones if you were single?" he asked pointedly.

"No," she lied.

Damon's brow arched in a challenge at her words. Before she could stop him, he stood up and closed the distance between them so that his lips were hovering temptingly over hers. Elena's breath caught in her throat as she felt the heat radiating off his skin, and unconsciously her eyes darted to his soft mouth; her own lips parted slightly and her tongue flicked out to lick them before she could even realize just what she was doing. Damon tilted his head to the side, a small smile playing at his lips. And then, just as quickly as he'd invaded her space and sent her pulse skyrocketing, he drew away again. "Liar," he purred softly in her ear before finally giving her the space she needed to regain her composure.

"Can you _please_ just wait downstairs so I can get dressed?" She really wasn't sure she'd be able to resist him if he stayed in her room a second longer, and that thought terrified her; this entire situation had become far too intimate. He needed to leave.

"We're well past being fashionably late," he reminded her.

"I'll be quick," she promised.

Damon nodded in agreement, turning toward the door again. He paused just outside the hallway, unable to resist getting the last word in. "I'll go," he told her. "But if you're not ready in ten minutes, I'll dress you myself."

Between his warning tone and teasing expression, Elena couldn't tell if he was joking or not; she decided she wasn't willing to take the chance that he wasn't, however. As soon as he left the room and she heard his footsteps on the stairs, she quickly changed into the first outfit she saw; it just happened to be a little black dress that had once been her go-to dress for anything party-related. She'd once worn it at a masquerade ball years ago at the Lockwood's annual Halloween party, and for a moment she almost felt like the girl she'd once been; wild, carefree, and uninhibited. As she began to apply her makeup and style her hair in record time, she began to feel slightly better about tonight. Loathe as she was to admit it, Damon had been right to drag her out of the house; it would be just the thing she needed to get her mind off the fact that her boyfriend didn't seem to want her anymore. When she made her way down the stairs exactly ten minutes later, Damon was already waiting for her dressed in his leather jacket. He let out a low whistle.

"Nice!" he complimented. "I like you in black."

"You would, wouldn't you?" she muttered under her breath; but she couldn't help blushing at his compliment. It had been a while since she'd truly felt attractive, and Stefan had hardly ever taken notice whenever she'd dressed up for him in the past; it was nice to have someone pay her that sort of attention, even if it _was_ Damon.

He held out his arm to her, nodding toward the front door. "Shall we?"

Elena was almost surprised when she took his arm without any hesitation at all. She had to admit he could be sweet when he wanted to be, and the truth was that she really did like him as a friend, even as obnoxious and annoying as he was; she just wished she didn't have to remind herself so often that was all they were.

**Author's Note: **So I know I took forever with this chapter, but hopefully the next one won't take as long to write now since I've got pretty much all the dialogue I need. But then again, knowing me, I'll probably come up with some brilliant scene in between and have to re-work everything around it, so I can't really promise anything. But, since I've given you such a fun chapter full of pretty much nothing but hilarious banter, I hope you can all forgive me. I'm also working on All I Need, but contrary to popular belief, writing smut is not easy! It's so much easier to write a good dialogue piece than it is to throw in tons of description without making every scene sound exactly the same, and with all the smut I've written over the past six months, that's not an easy task. So please, I beg you all to be patient with me! I'm also cooking up a new story, suggested to me by Lovexandxfate, but I don't even have a title for it yet so it might not be up for a while. I'm sure you'll all love it though!

Now, I do have one tiny little request (other than for you to review, since that's a given. Lol). The Livejournal community** tvdrecs** is hosting the annual Fanfiction awards and they are currently taking nominations for favorite authors in various categories. It would mean SO much to me if all my readers helped me get a nomination, and hopefully even helped me win an award. As a fanfiction writer, I don't get paid to write this stuff. I do it purely b/c I love to write, and I adore my readers. Each time you send me a review or a kind message telling me how much you love my work, that's my payoff. To me, that's worth a lot more than just getting paid to write something, b/c getting paid and knowing how many people actually appreciate the effort I put into my writing are two entirely different things. So if you truly want to support my work, please head over there and nominate your favorite authors and stories. I'm not just asking for myself; I'm asking for ALL my friends here who have written such amazing stories and deserve recognition for their accomplishments. Details are on my LJ (Drkprncss17) if you're not sure where to go from here. Deadline is May 7th!

Thank you for all your continued support!

XOXO

Carly


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